


Anonymously Yours

by DirtyLarryStylinson



Category: Larry Stylinson - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bicurious Harry, Depression, Eventual Smut, Harry has no idea, Harry is actually very sad :(, Harry loves Louis' bum, Louis Catfishes Harry, Louis wants Harry, M/M, Posh harry, Rich Harry, Sexual Tension, Suicide Attempt, They are friends too, harry is straight, louis has a crush on harry, so much tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-10-17 15:53:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 64,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10597296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DirtyLarryStylinson/pseuds/DirtyLarryStylinson
Summary: Louis creates a fake, female social media account to talk to the new, straight boy, Harry Styles, on. Along with this, Harry is getting closer and closer to Louis and his friendship group, and things are taken way too far online.Further than Louis had ever intended.And secrets are revealed on how Harry feels about Louis...





	1. The Note

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you enjoy this fanfic. Louis will be catfishing Harry, and this plot I think has loads of potential to be taken anywhere in the story. Let's see if anyone is interested! I would greatly appreciate feedback x
> 
>  
> 
> This is kind of how they look in the story:
> 
> Louis:
> 
> [](https://imageshack.com/i/pmtmklvQp)  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> Harry:
> 
> [](https://imageshack.com/i/pnayNEE3j)  
> 

Louis was ultimately lost for words when his eyes landed on the boy stood in the doorway of the classroom. He simply couldn't look the other way. It was like everything was going in slow motion, like a magnetic pull that forced his gaze towards the boy, and it was unbreakable.

Perhaps it was that bright smile that he brought into the room, with those dimples and pearly white teeth, or the way his eyes gleamed in such an iridescent way when the light streaming in through the window hit them.

"Uh, I'm Harry. Harry Styles." The boy spoke in a smooth yet sonorous voice, raking one of those large hands through his feathery, wavy, chestnut curls as he did. His full, pink lips wrapped perfectly around each syllable. His emerald green eyes, lined with long, dark lashes, surveyed the sea of thirty or so pupils before him. He made eye contact with Louis for the slightest moment, a millisecond, but it probably meant nothing to him. It meant everything to Louis.

"Thank you, Harry," Smiled Mrs Jacobs, their plump, middle-aged English teacher. "Please take a seat. Wherever you want."

Harry sent her a smile and a nod before facing the room again. There was an empty desk in front of Louis. But there was also an empty desk in the back corner, which Harry chose instead. His long legs strode beautifully as he walked, adorned by the faded black fabric of his skintight jeans. Louis was staring again. He was being too obvious.

But it was impossible for him to look away. He mentally thanked the Earth for today's sunny weather, because that meant Harry was wearing a tight, white t-shirt that showed off his slim, lean torso and pronounced biceps.

Louis was screaming "fuck me" in his head, over and over again, now having to construct a mental image of Harry so as not to spin around in his seat and blatantly stare. Well this was sure to be a distraction to his education now.

Mrs Jacobs gave them all a task to get on with, on independently reading the next chapter in _To Kill a Mockingbird_. Louis had the page open but kept having to re-read the words over and over again because he couldn't concentrate. All he could think about was Harry.

A scrunched up piece of paper bounced onto his desk, causing his body to jolt slightly in surprise. It landed in front of him, having come from the direction of a smirking Zayn. Zayn was one of his best mates, and he knew about many of Louis' previous male crushes. Louis glanced up to make sure Mrs Jacobs wasn't looking before unfolding the piece of paper and holding it in his lap, out of view of his neighbouring classmates.

It said in very scribbly handwriting:  
_You are sooo obviously crushing on that Harry guy ;)_

Louis gave Zayn a little, crooked smile, clicking his pen into action before scribbling a response.

_Fucking look at him though:(_

He scrunched it up, giving another wary glance to Mrs Jacobs' table before chucking it back to Zayn, continuing to look like he was reading. The paper returned a moment or two later.

_He seems your type. Speak to him after class :)_

But as Louis was scrawling out his response, halfway through writing a prolonged 'Nooooo', Mrs Jacobs held her hand out in front of him, seemingly having magically appeared in front of his desk. Louis, who could feel just about everybody's eyes on him, sighed and scrunched the paper up again, slapping the paper ball into her open palm.

"Thank you." She sternly said. He winced when he heard the sound of her unfolding the paper, and all of the students in the room were watching on expectantly, hoping for her to read it out for their entertainment. Zayn stifled a laugh to himself as Mrs Jacobs' eyes scanned over the piece of paper. Her eyes flicked from Louis to Harry, who wore a perplexed facial expression when he noticed her glance.

Louis was _praying_ that she would keep it private, and luckily his prayers were answered because she ripped the piece of paper to shreds before binning it.

Thank God.

* * *

"Oh God, Mrs Jacobs knows I have a crush on Harry Styles." Louis whined, head meeting his folded arms on the tabletop in the cafeteria. Zayn still seemed to be finding it funny, chuckling away to himself, between mouthfuls of his lunch.

"Mate, it's fucking hilarious! The way she looked at him as well! Fucking priceless." He exclaimed in pure delight, patting Louis on the back. Louis wasn't really hungry anymore after the embarrassment of what happened, using his fork to pointlessly move his pasta around on his plate.

"It's just really embarrassing. He probably knows something now." Louis snapped, dropping his fork altogether with a clatter on his plate. "Fuck, he probably knows I like him!"

"I doubt it. He probably just thinks we were talking about him because he's new." Zayn hopelessly reassured.

"That doesn't make it any fucking better, man." Louis rested his chin on his palm, staring off into space. "Where's Liam? And Niall?"

"I don't know, I'm not a bloody psychic." Zayn joked, despite Louis being in the wrong mood. "Buuut, they were speaking to Harry after class. Maybe they're with him."

This was only getting worse. Louis, Zayn, Liam and Niall were a very close-knit group of friends, and had been since year one of primary school. They were now seventeen. This meant that if _they_ made friends with Harry Styles, he would ultimately be invited to join their friends group.

"I kind of hope not."

And at that moment, Liam and Niall entered the cafeteria... with Harry trailing along behind them. It felt like the world stopped for Louis again, like when Harry first entered the room and introduced himself.

"Heeey! Here they are!" Niall over-enthusiastically called to Louis and Zayn, ruffling Louis' hair as the three of them reached the table. Louis groaned in complaint and fixed his hair quickly. Niall sat on Louis' other side, so Louis was between him and Zayn, and Liam and Harry sat at the other side of the circular table. Louis didn't even dare look up at Harry, he kept his eyes concentrated on Liam and Niall.

"Harry, this is Louis," Niall jabbed Louis' shoulder. "And that bellend over there is Zayn." He smirked, earning a jokingly scolding look from Zayn.

"Nice to meet you, guys." Harry grinned, and this time Louis met eyes with him for what must have been two whole seconds.

"You too, mate," Louis sent a friendly nod his way. Harry's fierce gaze was too much. He was still seemingly getting comfortable with his new surroundings, like a puppy. Louis was comparing him to a fucking puppy now, in his head. His thoughts soon turned dirty, though, when he thought about what was beneath Harry's clothes. He probably had a _huge_ dick; everything else about him was upsized. Especially those big hands, which Louis wanted to be touched with.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't be in a group of friends with someone who he literally wanted to fuck - it wasn't going to work very well. 

Well, perhaps he could try to keep it a secret.

"You got a girlfriend, Harry?" Zayn spoke up suddenly, so Harry's head lifted from looking at his phone screen. "Or... a boyfriend? Whatever you're into, you know. We don't judge."

Louis wanted to punch Zayn, even though it was for his own benefit that Zayn was asking Harry. Louis' heart was lightly thumping in his chest as he awaited Harry's response. What if he _was_ gay or bi? That would be a good start.

"I'm straight," He laughed, stiffly, as though it was all a joke. "But no girlfriend. Single at the moment."

Well... half of that response was good, at least. But it didn't stop the crushing feeling in Louis' body that Harry was straight. Not that he had much of a chance anyway.

"Well so are all of us. Single that is." Zayn chuckled.

Louis kicked Zayn under the table. Harry could _not_ know that he was bisexual, it would probably cause him to over-analyse every glance Louis gave him.

"Well I don't judge either," Harry openly announced to the entire table, "Just to let you all know."

Maybe Louis was being over-dramatic, but it was as though Harry's eyes were on him for longer than anybody else around the table. Perhaps he knew something about Louis' sexuality.

That meant Louis had to be more discreet from now on.


	2. The House

The library was always cramped during last period, which was the assigned length of time for everybody to do their studying and catch up on any outstanding homework or assignments that they had. Louis and his friends usually avoided it at all costs, but they only went in there because Harry insisted on it. Louis didn't protest, despite his hatred for crowded spaces, because let's face it - he would probably enter a lion's cage wearing a meat dress if Harry asked him to. He was just too irresistible. 

"Where are we gonna sit?" Liam asked, in a hushed tone, clearly anxious about the sheer number of pupils in the room. All of the benches were filled along the centre aisle of the library, and there were even a few students sat on the floor against the walls of the room. Liam had anxiety, and Louis knew for a fact that this itself was making his heart race. He patted Liam's shoulder in reassurance.

As the group walked through the Library, Louis noticed a table of girls on the left of them nudging each other and craning their necks over to blatantly stare at Harry. Louis inevitably felt his stomach bubbling with jealousy, and the small smile on Harry's face expressed that he liked the attention from the ladies. Louis couldn't blame them. All they required was a pair of eyes to find Harry handsome.

"Harry Styles!" A female voice called into the silence, as though it was for a dare, before the entire table shrieked with laughter, clutching each other and ducking their heads when Harry looked their way. They received a scolding look from the Librarian, but they clearly only cared about the glance they got from Harry.

"You're already popular with the ladies," Niall chuckled to Harry, as they found an empty spot on the floor by the wall, at the back of the Library. Harry shook his head and lightly laughed, dropping his bag on the carpet before sitting down.

"Let them have their fun." He laughed.

Louis sat next to Harry, cross-legged on the carpet. Clearly all Harry saw was a new friend sitting next to him, so chastely, yet it was one of the best experiences Louis could wish for. His knee was touching Harry's and he could smell the alluring aftershave that he wore. Louis distracted himself by pulling out his Biology textbook, opening it and setting it on his lap.

"Louis, you're being really quiet." Zayn claimed, even though he himself had been quiet since lunch had ended.

"Well we are in a Library, Zayn." Louis joked. Harry laughed at Louis' snide comment. He fucking laughed! Louis made Harry laugh. Louis tried not to smile too much, but Zayn noticed it and sent him a smirk.

The hour went by pretty quickly, and soon enough the five boys were stood in a huddle in the car park whilst deciding what they were to do now.

"Do you guys wanna come and hang out at mine?" Harry offered. Louis' ears perked up. "My mum's still getting all our furniture and stuff unpacked but she would love to meet you all."

"Sure, I'm down." Liam smiled.

Niall and Zayn both agreed too.

"Louis?" Harry turned to him, so their eyes met. Louis didn't even intend to stutter, and he wanted to punch himself when he did. 

"Y-Yeah, sure."

"Great!" Harry grinned. "Let's go. I'll drive." 

"You can drive?" Niall awed, as they followed Harry through the car park. They stopped at a black Audi Q7, which Harry used his car keys to unlock.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=27xe69v)

Louis was almost speechless. From his basic knowledge of cars he could tell you that Audis are typically... on the pricier side of the scale. Especially as Harry was only seventeen and must have only recently passed his test.

"Yeah, passed in April. About two months after I turned seventeen." He informed them, opening the driver door and nudging his head as a way of saying 'jump in'. So Harry was born in February.

Niall took the front seat before Louis could; not that he would have been confident enough to, anyway. The car smelt brand new, but the CDs resting on the dashboard above the radio and the magazines slotted in the pouches on the back of the driver and passenger seats made it look slightly less like it had just left a car dealers. Louis was squished into the middle seat in the back, between Liam and Zayn, who certainly didn't care to leave him much space.

"God, Louis, you've got a big arse. Me and Liam've got no room 'ere." Zayn was doing it on purpose, smirking at his mate. Louis tried his hardest not to flush red but failed slightly. Harry glanced back in the rear view mirror  briefly, with a humoured look in his eyes, and Louis just wanted to disappear.

The car ride mainly consisted of Niall chatting away to Harry, barely letting him speak in response. 

Niall had always been like that: a complete chatterbox. He said everything on his mind. Liam was more quiet, enjoying more just sitting back and listening to what others were saying. He was the friend Louis could go to about absolutely anything. Then there was Zayn, who was probably considered the 'cool' one of all of them. He got on with just about anyone in their school, and everybody liked him. Louis didn't know what he was considered in their group, really. People liked him, of course they did, but he didn't know what his personality was like through the eyes of others.

Louis stared out the window, as the houses surrounding them seemed to be getting larger and posher. They were in that part of Doncaster, the part where the prices of the houses were too out of reach for most families. Nobody mentioned it, but they did seem to awe over the sizes of the houses around them. Harry pulled into the driveway of a large, modern home, painted white with light oak panelling around the doors and windows.

"...Cool house," Niall complimented, after a few moments of silence. He spoke for he and his friends.

"I reckon it's too big. Our old house was smaller, more homely." Harry said, scrunching his nose up a bit. He was complaining for having a house that's too _big_. Louis was crammed into a four-bedroom semi-detached council house, with his mum and four sisters. He could only wish for a house this size.

"I'd gladly swap," Louis' thoughts became words. "My family have outgrown our house."

Harry smiled at Louis but he didn't reply. They all jumped out of Harry's car, onto the pebbles that scattered the driveway. The house was number twenty-eight, highlighted by the golden, cursive metal numbers nailed to the porch post. Harry opened the door, into the house, inviting the boys in.

"Mum, I've brought some mates back with me!" Harry's voice echoed into the open hallway due to the lack of any furniture yet. The hallway continued into a kitchen, and through there was the sliding glass doors leading to the garden. Louis and his friends instinctively slid their shoes off by the door, sitting them neatly by the door in a row.

"That's great, Harry! Me and Gem are in the garden!" Came the reply.

"Gemma's my sister." Harry mentioned to his friends. He ignored his mum's obvious invitation to join them in the garden and instead began leading his new friends up the carpeted stairs. Louis gazed around the house, taking in the sheer size. It was like a dream house. Harry stepped into what must have been his bedroom, with just a double bed, and a computer on a desk on the left. Boxes on boxes were stacked all over the right of his room, waiting to be unpacked.

"Umm... yeah. This is my room." Harry laughed. Niall decided to throw himself down onto Harry's perfectly made bed, throwing his feet up onto it in relaxation. Harry chuckled so brightly that Louis felt his stomach dip a little. What a beautiful, genuine laugh he had.

"I'm glad you did that actually, things were way too quiet between the five of us." Harry grinned. Zayn took a seat on the swivel chair at Harry's desk, while Liam and Louis stood awkwardly by the door.

"Don't feel awkward, guys. I know we only met like six hours ago but please feel welcome." He smiled. Was he looking at Louis for longer than he looked at Liam, or was Louis just being paranoid?

Louis and Liam perched themselves on the edge of Harry's bed, after Niall had sat up to give them room. This was the bed that Harry Styles slept in. His half naked (or maybe even naked) body had graced these very sheets, for hours as he slept. Was Louis being a creep now?

"Hope you guys don't mind a bit of nudity, gotta change my t-shirt quickly." Harry said. Louis didn't even have time to react before Harry had pulled off that tight, white t-shirt, revealing a lean, muscular torso that was tight with muscle. 

Louis was the only one who seemed bothered, because Niall was casually scrolling on his phone and Zayn and Liam were chatting amongst themselves from where they were sat. Louis was staring. God, was he staring, as Harry rummaged through one of the cardboard boxes in search of a different t-shirt. Louis looked away just in time, luckily, before Harry had looked up again and pulled the new t-shirt on.

"So... what now?" Harry chuckled, sitting on the bed too. "What do you guys wanna do?"

"Let's just chat," Niall suggested, sitting against the headboard. "Get to know each other more."

"I'll go first. Harry, is your family Damn rich?" Zayn openly asked, causing Harry to throw his head back a little in a laugh.

"My mum and dad divorced. He's a lawyer, absolutely packing the money. Gives my mum half."

That was a modest yes.

It was like the prince and the pauper, Harry and Louis. Harry had this huge home and so much money, while Louis and his family were only just getting by. He didn't like that very much.

Zayn and Louis made eye contact, before Louis saw his eyes darken deviously. Oh no, he was planning something.

"Have you been in a relationship recently, Harry?" He asked, so Harry's head whipped around to look his way.

"I just got out of a two-year relationship. We broke up because I had to move, and she didn't want a long-term thing."

The word 'she' in that statement still hurt Louis.

"Louis is usually the one getting the attention from the ladies." Zayn smiled, giving Louis a little wink. "Always him."

Oh no, not again. Zayn was fucking terrorising him.

"Well he is a good looking guy, don't blame them." Harry smiled at Louis.

OH. Louis was screaming in his head, but on he outside he responded with a calm 'cheers, mate.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so chapter 3 is when the catfishing will commence. >:)


	3. The Account

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Louis uses Kendall Jenner's photos to make the fake profile, younger ones of her when she was around their age of 17. Before you say, yes I know she is very famous and stuff and it would be obvious for someone to use her photos, but in this she isn't so famous, as I say in it. I hope you enjoy :)

Louis spent a good half an hour interrogating every single tiny aspect of Harry's Facebook page when he got home. It was twenty minutes past eight, and the main light in Louis' room was off so merely the light coming from his laptop lit the space around his bed. Harry's profile picture itself was a sight to behold. It was from the December of last year. He was looking like any girl's average teen heartthrob, with his hair pushed back at the fringe and sleeves of his open checkered shirt rolled up, as he sat on a motorbike and looked to his right. What a God.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=2cdg7m8)

_Fuck_ , he was so hot. Louis could bet his life Harry owned that motorbike and didn't even know how to use it; just a part of a prized collection. He was a prized possession himself. There were 261 likes on the profile photo. Louis had 64 on his. That meant Harry was over four times more popular than him. How had somebody like Harry fallen into his group of mates? 

There were comments on the photo, many bloody comments.

_Hottie._

_Fuckin' model, I'm telling you_

_Dammmmn boiii_

_tumblr af_

_bestie_

_Mine forever♡_

This last comment caught Louis' eye. It was left by a girl called Sophie, and it had five likes on it - one being Harry. Harry had responded to the comment: _I love you .xx_

The sheer jealousy coursing through Louis' veins was indescribable, despite seeing that the comment was from seven months ago, and the fact that Harry had broken up with her anyway, as he had said so himself. He clicked on Sophie's profile, immediately injected with yet another shot of jealousy. She was so pretty. Her profile picture was of her, dark hair in plaits over each shoulder, wearing a crown of pale green flowers on her head. Her eyes were a piercing hazel and freckles scattered her nose. Her picture had lots of likes too. She and Harry must have been one of those popular couples in Harry's old school, one of those couples who were envied by everybody. A picture perfect couple.

Harry's comment on the photo practically killed Louis, it stabbed a knife into his stomach and twisted it:  
_My girl is so fucking beautiful .xx_

Louis clicked off her profile. He didn't want to put himself though this, yet here he was on Harry's profile again. He had 'single' as his relationship status. That felt a bit better. Sophie was gone. 

Louis found himself scrolling through Harry's photos again. He was particularly interested in a photo folder on Harry's profile called 'Model shots, 2016'. For goodness sake, of course he had done fucking modelling. This boy was too perfect for Louis.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=5xnccm)

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=24cijpg)

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=206j48m)

Louis concluded that Harry was almost _too_ hot. It was unreal. He was tall, hot, rich, and also a lovely person. What the hell was going on? Where had he come from?

He had added Harry on Facebook earlier and Harry had accepted the friend request within minutes, yet Louis was too scared to message him with even the simplest hello, or asking what he was up to. It just felt strange, and he had that burning feeling that Harry would somehow catch on to his little crush and would feel uncomfortable with him from then on. Of course, that wasn't true at all. Harry would just see one of his new mates getting to know him.

Louis smiled to himself as he remembered that Harry had called him good looking earlier that day. And those lingering looks Harry gave him stuck with him and made his stomach tingle. He didn't want to have to wait until tomorrow to talk to Harry but nor did he want to message him on Facebook.

Things would be so much different if Louis was a girl. He could confidently send Harry a message, maybe even a flirtatious one. And they could talk for hours on end about anything and everything and Louis wouldn't have to worry about slipping up and saying something that would give him away because it wouldn't be _him_ ; it wouldn't be a _boy_.

The idea that crossed Louis' mind was more than tempting, and as the minutes went by it only became more so. He could find a photo of a beautiful girl on the internet easily, one that would never be found out, perhaps one that looked similar to Harry's previous girlfriend. He could make a fake Facebook profile for her and add everybody in Louis' friend's list, and set her location as somewhere the other side of Doncaster.

Or maybe further away? Yes, that worked better. That way nobody would have to know whether or not she really existed and lived in Doncaster. There wouldn't be discussions in school about her. Louis could even find someone on Facebook who lived in a completely different area of England and add all of their friends. It had to be as realistic as possible. It had to work.

Louis was doing this now and he couldn't stop himself. He searched on instagram for what felt like an hour, scouring around for a profile of a girl whose photos he could use for the profile. It felt like he was auditioning them. They couldn't look too much like a model or have too many followers. He finally came across a girl named Kendall Jenner, who had 10.4K followers. That was a low enough number not to be found out, Louis figured. And she was beautiful, surely beautiful enough to grab Harry's attention. She had dark hair like Sophie, but her eyes were prettier and more enticing.

He saved twenty-seven of the photos to his laptop, trying to orientate around the selfie-style ones so that they'd look more realistic on a Facebook page. And then he was creating the profile itself. He called her Lily Henderson. He had always liked the name Lily, plus it was pretty much the first thing that came into his head. The name didn't matter at this point, what mattered was making this look real.

He altered her date of birth so that she was seventeen like Harry and Louis, and he added the most realistic profile picture to begin with.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=1z4dggk)

The cover photo was changed to something a teenage girl would generally have, of a girl holding her hands up against the sky to form a heart. It looked like it could really be somebody's profile.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=33eis1y)

This was weird. And it was so messed up. It was literally the first day of Louis meeting Harry, the first day, yet he was already captivated enough by him to do something so disloyal. He was abusing Harry's trust and he barely knew him.

He added in a location, saying that she was from London, and in her description that she was looking for new friends from around England. He added a lot of people from London, over two-hundred of them, sitting there for another extended period of time. 

He should have been studying.

People began accepting the friend request. They believed it. Louis just hoped and prayed that Harry would.

He then began adding people from Hall Cross, his school. He didn't want to add Harry, really, he just felt awful, despite the fact that he was deceiving every single person he had already added. He continued to add people, despite the guilt, requesting people from Hall Cross whom he had never even spoken to. He also added his closest friends; Zayn, Niall, Liam, and himself so it was more realistic.

Then he added Harry. It was done.

Notifications began flooding in to inform 'Lily' that people had accepted the friends request. Soon enough, she had over a hundred friends, and it had all happened so quickly. Zayn accepted the request next. Louis felt as though Zayn would _know_ , even know he wouldn't ever expect Louis to do something like that. Niall accepted a few minutes later.

Louis watched as more notifications flooded in. People also started liking the profile picture, mainly boys, and that soon had 37 likes. By the time Harry accepted the request, Lily had 217 friends. Louis' heart was racing. There was no backing out of this now, Harry knew about the account.

He clicked onto Harry's profile, and couldn't stop himself from liking all seven of Harry's profile photos, new and old. He wanted to get his attention. It worked, because a few moments later a message popped up.

 **Harry Styles:** _Hi, thanks for the likes :) .x_

* * *

The night before, Louis had speedily replied to Harry's message:

 **Lily Henderson:** _No problem, Handsome ;)_

Before slamming his laptop lid shut in sheer fright and sliding it under his bed. He was already too afraid to hold an online conversation with him. This was ridiculous, he was manipulating Harry.

He must have fallen asleep soon after that, because soon enough he was waking up to his sister Lottie thumping on his bedroom door. He jolted awake, still fully dressed in the clothes he wore yesterday.

"Louis! Wake up!" She impatiently yelled, banging on the door again.

"Okay! Christ, calm down!" He raged back, voice still full of sleep. He felt his heart dip when he remembered yesterday's events. Harry Styles. His house. _The profile._

He scrambled off his bed and reached for the laptop, sitting cross-legged and throwing the lid open. He typed in the password to unlock the device. The profile appeared, and many notifications. Harry had liked the profile picture and cover photo, along with many other people, and he had also responded to her message. A few others had messaged too, but he only cared about Harry's.

 **Harry Styles:** _You're very beautiful Lily .xx_

Louis felt his breath hitch. Harry was practically saying it to him, wasn't he?

 **Lily Henderson:** _Thank you Harry. Makes two of us. Xx_

Louis left his laptop open while he dressed, ruffling his hair in the mirror. He rushed to the bathroom to use the toilet and brush his teeth, and there was a message waiting when he returned.

 **Harry Styles:** _I feel as though you are flirting with me, Lily Henderson .xx_

Louis bit back a smile, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

 **Lily Henderson:** _You caught me Xx_

Louis left it there. He logged out of the account before turning his laptop off and returning it to its careless home beneath his bed.

* * *

Harry looked even hotter today. He was wearing black skinny jeans again, but this time paired them with black Chelsea boots and a white button-up shirt, with the top two buttons undone. His hair was up slightly at the fringe today, like in a few of his model shots. He looked like a fucking Louis Vuitton mannequin. He was sat on a bench near the field with Liam, and they were taking in the early morning sunshine.

"Morning, Louis," He greeted with a bright smile, squinting slightly against the sunlight and shielding his precious eyes. "How are you?"

Louis sat on Harry's other side, trying to be as casual as possible. "As good as I can be for a school morning."

Harry grinned at him before turning away again. A silence filled the air. Liam was carelessly scrolling through his phone. Louis could see him on Facebook, and a friend request at the top. It was from Lily Henderson, and he hesitated before accepting it.

"She added me, too." Said Harry.

Oh no, this was already backfiring.

"Me too." Louis quickly interjected. "Do you guys know her?"

"No." Liam laughed. "But she's pretty."

"She's so hot. I spoke to her a bit." Harry claimed.

Before the tense conversation could continue, Niall and Zayn had approached. Niall was lively as usual.

"Here's our newbie!" He exclaimed, ruffling Harry's hair so Harry complained humorously and swatted his hands away. 

Louis sat back and watched Harry in the corner of his eye.


	4. The Delusion

"Where does it say she's from?"

"London."

The conversation regarding the Lily Henderson account continued over lunch. Niall had brought it up after the chat turned to the sort of girls they found attractive, and he said she was one. This was obviously an uncomfortable discussion for Louis, due to both the facts that he preferred boys over girls, and that the account was in fact his. Harry was craning his neck over Niall's shoulder to look at his phone screen, where they viewed the profile, scrolling through it.

"She's only had Facebook since yesterday and she already has forty-eight likes on her profile picture and over three-hundred friends." Niall analysed. "She only has one photo and she is bloody gorgeous. What if it isn't her?"

This was agonising for Louis. He felt like his body language was giving him away, when all he was really doing was scrolling through his own phone and looking like he was utterly disinterested in their discussion. Nobody suspected a thing.

"If she doesn't add more photos then I would say it's probably a fake account," Liam gave his input from across the table. He didn't look too interested either, he probably just wanted them to shut up and change the topic. Louis would have to upload a new photo of Lily tonight. 

"It's so easy to fake an identity online, nowadays." Liam continued.

"Is it your account, Liam?" Zayn joked, chuckling to himself. "Seeing as you're saying it's easy to do. Got something to confess?"

"Yeah, it's totally mine." Liam sarcastically admitted, rolling his eyes. "I was just trying to help, I'll keep my mouth shut next time." And he went back to just quietly sitting.

"Should I message her?" Niall laughed, waiting for his friends to spur him on.

"Mate, she's mine." Harry grinned, jokingly. "I've already spoken to her, you can find someone else."

Louis was Harry's.

* * *

"You've been quiet today, Lou. What's up?" Liam softly asked him, trying to coax out an explanation as they walked home from school. Louis had to make up an excuse, fast.

"Uh, my parents had a big argument last night. Kind of upset me a bit, I guess." He put on a sad gesture, not looking up from watching his feet taking each step along the pavement in front of him. Liam's arm flung protectively around him. Now he felt bad. Liam, who he could always confide in, had believed the white lie.

"Well if you ever need to talk to me, mate, just know that you can. I will always be here for you. Always."

Louis just wanted to rewind time and he wouldn't have made that stupid fake account. He would have messaged Harry on his own account, but now he was already too deep into this and had been looking forward to messaging Harry all day on the account. It got him through the day, the thought that he could go and ask whatever he liked and it would be completely and utterly anonymous.

He ignored his mum when he came through the front door of his home, deciding to make his way straight upstairs before his young twin sisters, Daisy and Phoebe, could stampede out of the living room to bombard him with hugs and complaints about why he never bothered to play with them. He wasn't in the mood for that, he just wanted to have a shower and talk to Harry... _anonymously_.

He caught sight of himself in the mirror prior to jumping in the shower. His hair was sticking up a bit from having pulled his t-shirt off over his head, so he smoothed it down before sighing to himself. He was attractive like Lily, wasn't he? Of course he was.

He made the shower a quick one. He wasn't in one of those moods where he would stand under the hot stream of water for almost an hour to reflect because he didn't want to reflect on anything. The more he reflected, the more guilty he felt about deceiving Harry. He couldn't put himself through that.

He wrapped one towel around his waist and ruffled his hair dry with another before making the trip across the hallway to his bedroom again. Goosebumps rose on his arms as the biting air in his room hit the damp skin of his bare torso, and he rolled his eyes when he realised his window had been left open all day again. The days may have been bright and almost summery but it still got colder as the evening drew in.

He slipped into some tracksuit bottoms and aimed the towel for the laundry basket before throwing himself down onto his half-made bed. Then he dragged his laptop up off the floor and rested it on his lap, procedurally typing in his password to unlock it. He logged on to the account to find a few messages of boys from both London and Doncaster, with either flirtatious greetings or 'do I know you?'s. He ignored most of them, feeling bad for girls who had to put up with thirsty boys like this.

He chuckled when he found a message from Niall in the list.

 **Niall Horan:** _Hey girl xxx_

He completely ignored the message. He wasn't going to lead two of his friends on... one was bad enough. He didn't open it because he didn't want to leave Niall on read either, so he just went ahead and opened the message from Harry.

 **Harry Styles:** _So Lily Henderson, your profile says you're single. Is that true? .xx_

The message had been sent that morning, after Louis had already logged out of the account and gone to school. To be completely honest, he was beginning to get a little bit jealous of the girl in his pictures, despite the fact that he was the one receiving the messages and she was practically him. He replied hastily to the message.

 **Lily Henderson:** _That's right Harry Styles Xx_

Harry replied almost instantly, as though he was lying on his bed in the empty bedroom of his rich fucking house, already on his phone. As much as Louis enjoyed this imagery, he couldn't help but feel jealous when he remembered Harry's spacious bedroom. His, on the other hand, was a little bigger than a box room, with a single bed, wardrobe and desk rammed into it. He always had piles of clothes scattered around his bed, and whenever his belongings fell off his desk or bedside table that's where they stayed.

 **Harry Styles:** _Are you looking to change your relationship status at some point? .xx_

Wow, Harry really did not hold back with the flirting. As much as that was fantastic, it probably wasn't very good for Louis' brain. Each and every suggestive comment Harry processed in Louis' head as being directed towards _him_ , not 'Lily'. He was only in the early stages of talking to Harry and it was affecting him.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Waiting on the right guy Xx_

He needed to get down to the good stuff; the stuff that would really be interesting. Maybe more about Harry's former relationship, or about how many times he had had sex. That's something Louis wanted to know, but he knew it would have to wait.

 **Harry Styles:** _Could you post more photos? You're very beautiful and I would appreciate seeing more .xx_

It was a good thing Louis had plenty of photos saved into his laptop, ready to be shared. This couldn't really go wrong, could it? Just posting photos seemed easy enough.

 **Lily Henderson:** _I could if you'd like Xx_

He chose a simple black and white one of the girl with a piercing gaze, dark hair covering one of her eyes.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=1235b95)

He captioned it 'Your wish is my command ♡'. Harry liked the photo within seconds, and so did a few others who were active. Louis smiled to himself when he saw a comment notification from Harry, of the heart-eyes emoji. He really did believe all of this.

 **Harry Styles:** _You really are something else you know. You got me falling for you already ;) .xx_

Louis felt his stomach flip with so many emotions. Harry was falling for him already.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Maybe a photo from you next time Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _Of whatever you want .xxx_

Oh.

* * *

"She's not been replying since five," Harry informed his friends, who were lounging around on the carpet of Niall's bedroom. "Do you think it's because of the suggestive comment?"

_'No Harry, it's because I'm sat in here with you and can't exactly reply now.'_

Niall had decided to invite everyone around his house not too long after Louis had settled down to talk to Harry. He was a bit pissed off about it and not really in the mood, but it would have been more obvious to be the only one not there while Lily replied. He really hated this.

"Maybe she's too busy alone thinking 'bout what that photo could be." Niall smirked. God, he always had to have such a dirty mind. But Louis did love the flush of crimson on Harry's cheeks, obviously having not been expecting Niall to make such a comment. Zayn was laughing to himself, stretched across Niall's carpet on his back.

"What do you take me for, someone who would send nude photographs, Niall Horan?" Harry gasped in false shock, placing a hand to his chest. Louis hoped Harry was, that would be a bonus.

"You would though, wouldn't you?" Zayn lazily said, voice slightly strained as he stretched his arms out. "You would send her pictures of your dick any day."

He noticed the look Zayn gave him, as if to ask non-verbally how jealous he was. Little did he fucking know.

Was Louis being too quiet? Probably. He had to change that, he couldn't make his silence consistent whenever they spoke about Lily.

"Wouldn't blame him, she is pretty." He spoke up, exchanging looks with Zayn again. Zayn's head rose off the carpet a bit, eyebrows crumpled together. He knew Louis rarely made those comments about girls, it was mainly boys.

"Yeah, absolutely gorgeous." Harry mused, and his eyes linked with Louis' at that moment. Louis couldn't help the glassy look in his eyes because it just looked like he had said it about him, not about Lily. He knew deep down that it wasn't true, he was deluding himself again, but after all; Lily was _him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything you guys would like to see happen?? Always happy to take small requests, I want this to be something you guys really enjoy reading. X


	5. The Opinions

Harry was surrounded by a small, eager group of girls on the edge of the school field when Louis arrived at school the next morning. It was like he was a mainstream celebrity whose diehard fans had tracked him down and swarmed him, minus the hysterical crying and autograph signing that comes with the latter. The loudest girl of the group (an arrogant and overconfident girl called Lucy who Louis knew of but had never spoken to) was doing all of the talking, fueled by the dramatised giggling of her mates.

“You're from Cheshire? I thought you were from heaven!” She exclaimed, flirtatiously. The girls erupted into fits of laughter, while Louis felt as though he was about to see his breakfast again, and Harry laughed but was the epitome of awkward. He spotted Louis and relief struck over his face.

“I appreciate the compliment,” He rushed. “Have to go now, my mate's here.”

“Okay, handsome.” Lucy smirked, before the fencing of girls surrounding Harry parted, so he was free to hurry over to Louis. It was nice for Louis, being someone Harry was so happy to see, despite the fact that it was to avoid getting torn apart by hormonal, aroused teenage girls.

“Surprised you got out alive," Louis smiled, coaxing a laugh from Harry.

"I hate overconfident people." Harry rolled his eyes, giving a snide glare in the direction of the girls. "It annoys me, it's almost like they're doing it mockingly."

"I know what you mean." Louis immediately agreed.

Their alone time didn't last long, as a smiling Liam strolled over to them a moment later. He eyed the girls before copying Harry's previous gesture of an eye roll.

"Let me guess, you got harassed by girls again?" He lightly chuckled, watching Harry sigh out a laugh.

"Let's go somewhere else." He changed the topic, humorously, before beginning to lead his two new friends towards the school building. Louis used this as an opportunity to check Harry's whole body out, from the advantage point of being behind Harry and out of sight. He looked fucking sexy, today sporting a jade-green t-shirt with yellow on its short sleeves and collar. His long legs were beautifully shaped, as usual, by his skintight jeans that gave Louis a wonderful view of his arse. And again, he wore Chelsea boots, which today were brown leather (presumably real leather), but which were slightly scuffed at the toes. They were probably a pair of Harry's favourites.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=2ypkqq8)

He had a pair of black Ray Ban sunglasses pushed back and sat on his curls. Why did he have to keep making Louis fall deeper in love with him? He was just so gloriously perfect, it was so surreal. And as they walked through the corridor, Harry flashed that beautiful grin at almost everyone, people he had never even met, just to spread around the sunshine and bless everyone's days.

Harry Styles _was_ a damn blessing.

Louis, well 'Lily', hadn't spoken to Harry any further after they left Niall's house. Louis was too afraid to continue the conversation; he felt like every little message he sent would give him away, despite the almost impossible link Harry would have to make. He felt like he wasn't only letting Harry down, but also himself. It couldn't have been healthy, hiding behind another identity, deluding himself into believing Harry was saying all of these nice things to him. But it was so addictive. Harry was addictive. It was worse that they were becoming good friends, too. Louis really wanted to be able to just delete the account, stop it before it went further than it already had, but he just couldn't push himself to do it because so many possible questions were burning into his mind, which he just needed to ask.

He would give it a week - ask what he needed to and then delete the account and never look at it again. Yes! That's all he needed. Just get to know Harry in a romantic way, nothing too bad. Then there would be no way Harry would ever find out it was him, and they could still be friends. They would always just be friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S.

God, that hurt Louis to think about.

* * *

It seemed as though Harry was ultimately lovestruck by Lily Henderson. He spoke about her again at lunch, commenting on how nice her eyes were and how gorgeous she was. It hurt Louis again. But the more Harry liked Lily, the more he would reveal to her; to _Louis_. This was so fucked up.

"It's like she just appeared right when I needed it!" Harry awed, as they all sat on the grass on the field, basking in the sun. "You know, I've just broken up with Sophie, my ex, and now she has, like, magically appeared and is attracted to me!"

"Yeah, that is pretty cool, mate!" Niall grinned, patting Harry's leg. Louis got jealous at that, despite both Harry and Niall being straight. Niall was probably quite pissed that he never got a reply from her, but he didn't show it.

"Did she post more photos? I didn't accept her request." Liam chipped in, being the mature one of the group and still believing the account may be fake - well, it was. Only Liam and Louis knew that.

"Yeah, hold on..." Harry held a finger up, as a way to animate what he had said, while using his other hand to scroll through the Lily page to find the photo she (Louis) had posted. He lowered his finger and held his screen up in Liam's direction, who closely interrogated the photograph from where he was sat. His face contorted slightly, before his eyes flicked from the photograph to Harry's face.

"Harry... do you really think you're talking to the girl in the photo?"

Louis was trying to imitate Niall and Zayn, by casually watching, so as not to stand out in any way.

"Yes." Harry sounded confident, worryingly confident. "I think I am."

"Yeah!" Niall backed Harry. "I think it is too. I mean, she has quite a few friends... and Harry does attract a lot of girls, so why not someone this pretty?"

Liam sort of gave up, but it was obvious he still wasn't convinced. He stayed quiet, not the sort of boy to start an argument, and began idly picking grass from around him. Louis glanced up to see Zayn intensely staring at him, catching off guard slightly and causing his heart to start thumping. Was Zayn catching onto something?

"It's cool how she added you just the day after you joined Hall Cross," Zayn's gaze had turned to Harry now, yet Louis knew what was happening and he felt like he was sweating. "She added us all then, right? As though she made that account the day after you joined. Maybe it's someone from our school who is too scared to talk to you."

Oh shit, Zayn's eyes were on Louis again, so briefly that nobody else saw. He fucking caught on - he knew. That was probably why he had been so quiet, he was adding things up and working it all out. Or was Louis being paranoid?

"Well, I don't know," Harry shrugged. "It is kind of a weird coincidence, but I still think it's her."

Zayn nodded, not continuing the coversation any further, but he did again look towards Louis. Louis crumpled his eyebrows and gave him a 'what?' look, trying to look absolutely innocent, but Zayn casually smiled and shook his head as though to say it was nothing.

It definitely wasn't nothing.

* * *

Zayn was quiet again, as he and Louis went on their weekly visit to the American style diner in the city centre. It was nice when it was just the two of them, as they had always been the closest of all of them, but today it just felt purely awkward. Zayn wasn't being himself, and Louis didn't know what to do as they sat opposite each other in a booth and Louis nervously shovelled chips into his mouth.

"What's wrong?" He asked Zayn, finally, with a slightly full mouth.

"Nothing." Zayn smiled, but it was a smile which was a bit _too_ sweet. "What makes you ask?"

"You're being really quiet. And you were looking at me weirdly earlier... is everything okay? Seriously, I don't want you to say it's nothing if it is."

"It's just that Lily Henderson account." Zayn lightly shook his head, looking slightly to the left of Louis' face so they weren't making direct eye contact. Louis felt goosebumps erupt over him.

"What about it?" Louis tried to control the way he said it, stopping his voice from wavering and casually sipping his milkshake. He was actually terrified that Zayn was about to accuse him, well _call him out_ , for it being his account. He hated this, he wished he could undo everything.

"I don't want Harry to get too involved with it."

Oh, thank God. Well, maybe not, maybe Zayn was just saying that to prolong making Louis feel tense. Maybe he did know something but was going to hide it for a little longer, until all of the pieces had really fallen into place.

"Oh, neither do I. It could be really unhealthy."

Unhealthy. The only thing unhealthy, other than the junk food that he and Zayn were currently consuming, was the fact that Louis was quite literally being a different person online. A different identity; a different gender; a lie.

"Yes, unhealthy." Zayn mused, eyes linking with Louis'. "He shouldn't get too involved with this. It could go too far. He should stop before it does." There was powerful eye contact between the two boys, and Louis knew now that Zayn did know, and he was warning Louis. He was warning him that things would escalate if he didn't delete the account now. Louis' breath had hitched, and his hands had dropped from the tabletop and were gripping the fabric of his jeans beneath the table instead.

"Yes, he does." It came out as a whisper, as Louis was afraid other emotions would come out of it if his voice was any louder. 

Zayn gave a small, reassuring smile, but he didn't explicitly say that he knew it was Louis. He probably either wasn't completely sure, or he didn't want to embarrass Louis. Louis was convinced it was the latter option, and Zayn did know. He was that type of person, to just know something. He and Louis knew each other so well, and it certainly didn't take long for him to work out. He desperately wanted to beg Zayn not to tell Harry, but then again it felt awkward to, so he left it.

It was going to be very difficult now for Louis to talk to Harry using the Lily Henderson account, but no doubt was he going to. He couldn't help himself. 

* * *

Louis was in that position again: sat on his bed with his laptop perched on his lap. He had received a message from Harry already, but he was contemplating whether to reply. 

**Harry Styles:** _Hey .xx_

He drummed his fingernails on his keyboard, lips pouted as he thought of what to put. Did he just say a simple greeting, or something different? Did he reply, or did he deactivate his account?

Obviously, he opted to reply.

**Lily Henderson:** _Hello Harry, how are you? Xx_

Again, Harry had already read the message and was typing. He really did like her.

**Harry Styles :** _Very good, thank you. Just showered actually .xx_

Oh, wow, Louis was not thinking straight now. The thought of Harry's naked skin with hot water cascading down it was almost too much.

**Lily Henderson:** _That is a very nice thought Xx_

**Harry Styles:** _Is it? well i haven't taken the time to get dressed yet .xx_

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

**Lily Henderson:** _Maybe you should get around to doing that ;) Xx_

**Harry Styles:** _Or maybe I shouldn't. I'm already so hard .xx_

Ohhh no. Louis' body was taken over by a hot rush, unexplainably turned on. Harry was fucking hard right now.

Louis desperately tried to tell himself that this wasn't good, he needed to stop. He replayed what Zayn had told him over and over again in his mind, but it just wasn't getting to him. The alluring thoughts of Harry overpowered anything else.

**Lily Henderson:** _Why don't you send me a photo of what I'm missing? Xx_

Louis immediately slammed his laptop lid shut, as soon as he had sent the message, throwing it under his bed before lying on his bed, hands folded on his chest so he could feel how fast his heart was beating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope people are still reading? Maybe not, oh well. It is getting good :)


	6. The Talk

Louis was thoroughly terrified. He wouldn't be able to _think_ straight if Harry really did send him a photo of his dick, it would be all he could see whenever he looked at him in class - yet he still had to act chaste and "buddy-buddy" with him because nobody (except maybe Zayn) knew what he was doing. Why did he have to just take everything one step closer to the _too far_ stage?

It wouldn't do any harm, right? It was just a photo. And if Harry was already willing to send one, surely he didn't have much shame in doing it. The only thing that could be affected was Louis' straight thinking, but that didn't matter so much anymore. 

It had been 15 minutes, yet Louis' laptop remained collecting dust beneath his bed, and he remained oblivious to what Harry's response was. Each minute that passed was used as time for Louis to reflect and ultimately just hate himself for doing the complete opposite of what Zayn had told him.

He pulled himself together and reached over and under his bed, pulling his laptop out by carelessly scraping it along his floor, before flinging it up and onto his lap. He let out the long breath he had been holding as he opened the lid, and saw that one new message had been sent by Harry.

It wasn't a photo.

He should have known really that Harry wouldn't inattentively send a naked photo on Facebook. He didn't seem stupid.

 **Harry Styles:** _Eager, yeah? I like to get to know people first ;) .xx_

This annoyed Louis a bit. Harry had explicitly told him that he was hard, yet sending a photo was too much because they didn't know each other well enough. Made complete sense. He was slightly glad though, because he did regret asking Harry for a photo when he did. He would have had to deal with the mental image of what was beneath Harry's clothes, while also trying to get past how physically flawless his face was.

Was it best to just stop it all now?

No - he couldn't. There was still so much potential in what he could ask and it couldn't just be left undone. He had created Lily Henderson as a mask and the mask he shall wear.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Then get to know me more Harry Xx_

* * *

It was unbearably tense as Louis approached the table at which Harry, Zayn, Liam and Niall sat. There was that constant burning thought: "what if Zayn said something to Harry?" There were three pairs of friendly eyes greeting him, while the other pair remained sceptical and wondering. Of course, they were Zayn's.

"Hey, Guys." Louis greeted, trying his hardest not to look into those chestnut brown, conjecturing eyes. His eyes then darted straight to Harry's, which was a big mistake because it always took so much for him not to get completely lost in them. He was met with a chorus of greetings, with a non-verbal nod of the head from Zayn as a Hello.

Louis opted on the empty seat between Niall and Harry. Not only did this mean he had so stupidly sat himself right next to the boy who made his heart have palpitations, but he was also facing Zayn, who seemed to still be interrogating him. It was like he was trying to work out whether Louis had chosen to give up on the account yet, or not. Louis hated when people stared at him, especially when he hadn't done anything wrong.

Zayn's eyes flicked from Louis to Harry, then back. He was most certainly asking Louis without words whether he had listened to his advice or not. Louis gave an awkward half smile, a nimble way of saying 'working on it.'

Then Harry said the worst thing possible to add to the hum of students conversing around the room.

"Lily asked me for a dick pic last night."

Louis immediately felt blood rushing up to his cheeks. He couldn't stop it. His heart was hammering and a hot flush raced up his abdomen. Of course, Zayn's eyes were on him now, but now they were narrowed almost in disbelief. Oh, God, Harry really couldn't have chosen a worse time to say that.

"Really?! Woah, man, did you send them?" Niall over-excitedly asked, exhuberated by just about every little piece of gossip he could get. His face just lit up, eyes glowing. It was sad how he practically fed off of people's drama, like there was nothing fulfilling in his own life.

"No," Harry lightly chuckled at Niall's jubilant response. "Don't know the girl."

"No, you really don't." Zayn muttered under his breath. Louis pouted his lips to the side awkwardly, while Liam quietly agreed with Zayn, but in a sense that the girl could be anyone and not because he knew it was one of their best mates. The atmosphere had gotten tense, unless this was only Louis' judgement as he was being paranoid and was being mocked by Zayn across the table.

"Well, what if you got to know her more? You could get her number or you could FaceTime." Zayn suggested, looking straight at Louis. Another warning.

"Maybe, just not yet." Harry smiled. "Soon though."

That's when things were sure to get really messy, and Louis was bound to be exposed for making the account. He really hoped it didn't get to the point where Harry wanted to see Lily in live video, but it was almost inevitable that Harry would soon grow suspicious and curious and would most definitely ask.

"Lou, could you come with me to talk to Mr Adams?" Zayn suddenly asked. It was such a blatant lie, but Louis watched himself raise to his feet and follow Zayn towards the exit of the cafeteria. 

"I'll meet you Guys in the car park later!" Liam called, but not too loudly because he didn't want too much attention brought to himself from surrounding students.

"Yeah, okay."

Louis seriously felt as though he were a child about to get a thorough grilling from a strict parent. Zayn was walking slightly ahead, hands in pockets, jaw locked. He wasn't waiting up.

Louis trailed behind him, heart thudding again, as they wound through the corridors and headed towards the paved area behind the school where there were a few benches, and a water fountain. Zayn sat on one of the benches without saying a word, letting out a huff of air as he did so and letting his head hang back slightly with his eyes shut.

"So... you're not going to see Mr Adams?" God, it was the stupidest thing Louis had ever said, but it was more of a silence filler and had been the first thing that had come to mind. Zayn let our a breathy laugh that consisted of everything but humour. It sounded more _tired_.

"Louis, sit down." Zayn instructed, rather sternly. Louis didn't hesitate to do so, on the bench opposite Zayn's. He couldn't even bear sitting next to him. "You..." Zayn pinched the bridge of his nose in stress. "...You asked Harry for nudes."

It was out in the open now. Zayn knew it was Louis for sure. Louis was just speechless; he couldn't even comprehend what he could say.

"I wasn't being serious."

"Delete the account, Louis. Seriously. _Please_ just delete it. It's only going to get worse, you're going to get more and more involved, more _obsessed._ You need to listen to me." Zayn pleaded, gesticulating this by physically begging Louis with his hands. Louis was deeply conflicted.

"It will be my mess to deal with."

"You're seriously going to continue tricking our mate into thinking he's talking to a girl, when it's you? Louis, it is so fucking messed up! I'd understand more, _maybe_ , if we weren't friends with him, or if we didn't know him at all, but he is our friend now. You will get caught, but for now I don't know a thing." Zayn rose from his seat, hands splayed out as though to say this wasn't his business anymore.

Louis was left on his own with his thoughts and the sound of water trickling from the fountain. Zayn had basically just promised not to tell Harry, but also not to help Louis any further. He couldn't be blamed, really, because he had tried to help and give all of his advice but Louis refused to take it.

Maybe he really was messed up, messed up in the brain. Was it really so difficult to just stop talking to him?

* * *

**Lily Henderson:** _Who are you mates with in ur school then? Xx_

Of course Louis needed to ironically ask about himself, without Harry's knowledge. Harry was more than likely to tell his true opinions to a stranger because they couldn't judge him (despite the fact that Lily Henderson was in fact Louis masquerading as a girl on social media.)

 **Harry Styles:** _Nice group of guys- Niall, Louis, Liam and Zayn .xx_

Harry stated Louis' name second. Second out of four. The second most important. Louis was Harry's second most important friend, after Niall who practically forced Harry into being best mates by constantly talking at him. Harry's mind had constructed a mental image of his friends, and Louis was second in line. He couldn't help but smile.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Tell me about them all Xx_

He didn't want to seem too intrigued by Harry's friends, rather than asking more about Harry himself. If Harry got too suspicious, Louis would have to change the topic, pronto. 

**Harry Styles:** _Well they're all very nice guys :) .xx_

That wasn't enough. Louis needed more depth. 

**Lily Henderson:** _That tells me so much about your friends(!) Describe them all, what they are like Xx_

Louis bit his lip in anticipation as he saw that Harry was typing. This felt so strange; it felt like he really was in the body of a girl. Not in a creepy way, but it was as though he had entered the mindset of this girl, and everything he typed ran through his mind as though he was processing it as Lily Henderson, not as Louis Tomlinson. 

The iconic Facebook message notification sounded, and Louis' eyes darted down to take in the reply. 

**Harry Styles:** _Niall is really chatty y'know? Could talk for hours I think, even if no one was replying:) Liam is quiet but so trustworthy and loyal. Zayn is just cool, chilled out guy. Like it. And Louis, I'm not really sure how to describe Louis .xx_

Louis felt his stomach drop slightly. He wasn't sure whether to feel hurt or intrigued by Harry's comment on him: either there was nothing striking about Louis to him, or Harry was completely and totally infatuated by him. It was definitely the first option, sadly. 

**Lily Henderson:** _Why do you not know? Haha Xx_

Louis had vocalised a laugh within his message, yet he felt like he was sweating and he didn't even want to look at the reply. Harry's opinion on him just meant so damn much, it was indescribable. 

**Harry Styles:** _He is just Louis. Pure Louis. Happy, chatty, bubbly, lovely :) I don't think people appreciate him enough really .xx_

Louis felt as though his body was strapped to a rocket, which was launching into the sky at a million miles an hour, and adrenaline was shooting into his veins and causing goosebumps to surface, and pins  & needles to shoot through his body. 

Okay - maybe that was a bit too over-the-top, but he was definitely more than fucking happy. 

**Lily Henderson:** _It sounds like you like Louis, Harry ;) Xx_

It was such a dumb thing to put, Louis regretted it immediately. 

**Harry Styles:** _Haha no I'm straight..._

An awkward laugh; no kisses; an ellipsis - Louis had just maximised the awkwardness by 90%. Why did Harry have to be so touchy about his sexuality? It wasn't like Louis made a serious accusation about Harry liking boys. 

**Lily Henderson:** _I was kidding Harry, sorry you got all touchy Xx_

Louis instantly realised that he put that in an argumentative, shady way. He was honestly such an idiot. 

**Harry Styles:** _I hardly got touchy, I was just telling you that I'm straight. 100% straight. I don't like Louis, I was just trying to be nice and think of a description of him, it was quite hard to do._

It was quite hard to do. The description was completely forced, Harry had to think about it before typing it. 

Louis slammed his laptop lid shut without replying. He felt too hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why's Harry being so touchy then? *tense music*
> 
> Sorry if this is all unedited and shit, I'm tired but wanted to update.
> 
> Any minor things you guys wanna see happen?


	7. The Housewarming

**Harry Styles:** Did I upset you yesterday by getting mad? Sorry if I did .xx

The message was waiting for Louis on his laptop the next morning, after he had gotten into a strop and stopped replying to Harry altogether. He was just glad Harry thought it was because 'Lily' was annoyed at how he got mad, not because it was in fact Louis who had gotten upset because Harry had practically dissed him. It really did feel like they were a couple who had argued, one waking up to an apology from the other the next morning.

He chose not to reply again, because he had to get ready for school and he knew the conversation could potentially continue while they were at school, but it would be too obvious for him to be subtly typing back to Harry beneath the table. That was one restriction of all of this: Louis could only reply when he was at home. That was bound to get suspicious at some point, if they continued talking for much longer.

Louis opted for a simple outfit today, of black skinny jeans with a plain white t-shirt and faded black denim jacket. 

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=10qwitt)

He didn't particularly try with his outfits anymore, he had given up early on in the year. There wasn't even any point in trying to look good for Harry either, because he was '100% straight' after all. Louis' heart hurt.

He got to the school field that morning to find that Niall wasn't present. Perhaps he was running late or wasn't feeling well, but either way it meant that at that moment in time Louis may have finally had his opportunity to talk to Harry properly without being interrupted. Saying this, he would most definitely be too paranoid to spark up a conversation. He felt like everything he said hinted that he was behind the Lily account, despite the fact that Harry had no idea Louis liked him (he maybe didn't even know Louis was bisexual) and Louis was really wishing he never made the damn thing in the first place. Maybe he and Harry could have become closer a lot easier if Louis had just gotten to know him by being himself.

"Hey, Lou," Liam smiled, lifting up his sunglasses so he could squint up at Louis through the sun. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, good." He bluntly responded, adding a smile. Louis actually felt as though he needed to be resuscitated because Harry looked so wonderful. He was simply wearing a red and black checkered shirt, with the top few buttons undone to reveal the top of his chest and a crucifix necklace, black skinny jeans, and yet another pair of Chelsea boots - this time in brown suede.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=mjr0ph)

He made such a straightforward outfit so stylish, topping it off with a pair of black sunglasses that covered up those pretty eyes of his. Louis didn't feel as though he had been staring for too long, but Zayn did notice that way he observed Harry. It was hardly surprising now.

"Sit with us, Lou." Harry mimicked Liam's previous nickname, sending chills down Louis' back at how that sounded so much like a pet name that a lover would use for him. Just because it was Harry. Louis certainly didn't hesitate to obey Harry's instruction, sitting himself down at a reasonable distance away from Harry but still close enough to smell how enticing his aftershave was. 

Harry removed his sunglasses, rubbing his eye sweetly with the back of his hand, throwing the glasses on the grass beside him. He stretched back and laid his body out across the grass, with a groan of relaxation that made Louis' spine tingle, and giving him a very inviting view of one of his bare hips as his shirt rode up slightly. This was so unfair, the tension for Louis was too much to handle. 

There was an immediate silence to follow amongst them, without Niall's constant and sometimes unbearable chatter to fill it. Louis was wondering whether he had brought the silence. It seemed as though the others experienced the silence comfortably, as Louis could see Harry dozing slightly in the heat of the sun, despite being at school. He just seemed so carefree all the time. That must have been what it was like to be rich and hot. He had no worries about annoying younger siblings at home; no worries about whether there was enough money in his pocket to buy lunch; not having to try to look good for those around him because it was just _natural_. That would be blissful for Louis. Surely there were some things that troubled Harry in his life, everybody had something bad going on.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you guys all something," Harry suddenly spoke up, making Louis jump slightly and rip his eyes away from raking around Harry's being. He was staring again, he was surprised he hadn't been caught yet. Zayn gave a hum of acknowledgement, and Louis looked at Harry to animate his attention. "My mum was going to throw one of those 'housewarming' parties this Saturday. Just wanted to invite you all, obviously, it starts at six."

Louis couldn't help but continue to think Harry was only including him because he was in the group, not because he was particularly fond of him and wanted him specifically at the party. Something inside him wished Harry would forget to invite Niall, as spiteful as that sounded, because he wanted Harry all to himself and that was only possible without Niall there.

"I can make it." Louis was first to respond, deciding to stand out for once instead of waiting for the others to speak before agreeing. Harry gave him a bright smile, eyes sparkling, and Louis actually loved his life for just a split second. It was like the world stopped spinning.

He wanted it to always be like that, just Harry and him.

"I'll come." Liam agreed, crushing that temporary, little 'Harry and Louis' bubble. Zayn too agreed, and it only now hit Louis what he had agreed to. A most likely formal gathering at Harry's posh house, with his posh friends and family, and an overly posh atmosphere. Louis was more of an informal, beer-and-footie guy. He only agreed because, well, Harry.

Harry strained and sat himself up, propping his weight back on his hands with his feet planted on the grass, knees pointed to the sky. His eyes then began wandering over Louis' body. What was going on? Harry's eyes scanned over Louis' abdomen, very much intentionally. Louis didn't know how to respond and he felt like his eyes had widened slightly, but his first response was to do the same to Harry's body, thoroughly looking over where his chest was visible in his open shirt. This turned out to be the wrong move, as Harry's intention had not been to check Louis out.

"Are you not hot in that jacket, Louis?"

Oh no. Louis had very blatantly ogled over Harry's body, as though he was responding non-verbally to some sort of sexual invitation, when Harry was really wondering how Louis could wear a denim jacket in such intense heat. He had fucked up once again.

"Y-Yeah, a little bit." Louis could feel that his cheeks had heated up. He very awkwardly shrugged off his jacket and messily folded it, dropping it onto the grass. Zayn watched with narrowed eyes and a slight smirk at Louis' gawky actions. Louis really wished he hadn't checked Harry out too. Now Harry was bound to know Louis liked him! He had to save it, fast.

"I like the crucifix, by the way," He quickly commented, pointing at the silver necklace against Harry's chest. "You always dress so well."

For fuck's sake, Louis, always digging himself deeper and deeper in. That could just be a friendly comment, right? It didn't exactly scream "I want to bang you."

"Thank you, Lou. So do you." Harry smiled, once again taking in Louis' rather boring outfit. This was so damn awkward, it seemed so forced. Zayn noticed, laughing lightly to himself, whereas Liam couldn't pay less attention as he was practically asleep under the sunshine.

Louis needed to start being less awkward around hot guys.

* * *

Louis was overtaken with so much sexual frustration towards Harry Styles. It was like an unstoppable rush that took over him, whenever Harry did something so much as squint in a certain way or smirk with those plump, red lips which Louis so desperately wanted to bite on. Everything about Harry was just absolutely flawless, as though his mum had been given the chance to craft every small detail about him, perfecting him. It was just down to chance that he was so perfect.

Louis had been trying to talk to Harry more, but factors prevented this for long, such as: Niall's willingness to talk over Louis, Louis' general awkwardness, and Zayn's suspicions about pretty much every single thing Louis decided to say. The universe itself wasn't letting this happen. Perhaps it was karma for Louis because he was deceiving Harry.

One of the most confident things Louis had done was like Harry's profile picture on Facebook on his own personal account, because it was impossible not to. He was just so... beautiful. He was pulling a stern, almost grumpy, face, and it was he cutest thing Louis had ever seen. 

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=nxs41x)

* * *

Saturday came around too quickly. Louis had been stressing himself out over whether or not to buy Harry and his family a housewarming gift, so he had asked the others and they had said they were. So Louis purchased a pack of five fancy candles, which were a pretty hefty price of £20. That was a lot for Louis, even though they were bound to be pushed aside in such a opulent house as Harry's.

He was also stressing out over an outfit. Did he go smart or casual? He settled for smart-casual, opting for a simple black blazer, a plain white t-shirt and black jeans: literally his usual outfit but with a blazer for slight formality. He was happy to see that Zayn had made an effort too, with a white button-up shirt and black jeans.

"Niall and Liam meeting us there?" Louis questioned, as he approached Zayn on the corner of Louis' street, where they had planned on meeting to catch their taxi to Harry's.

"Yeah, they'll be there," Zayn mumbled, too distracted by his phone to acknowledge Louis fully. Louis rolled his eyes, perching himself on the low garden wall behind him. He was feeling nervous now. In his mind, it was like he was about to go on a date with Harry, all dressed up, and was going to meet his family first. They were probably nice like Harry, right? All Louis knew about Harry's mum was her voice, when she called to him from the garden on the day Harry invited them round

"Louis, don't be so tense." Zayn had sensed how nervous Louis was, because he always played with his fingers too much and stared into space when he was. Zayn knew Louis well enough to tell.

"I'm always nervous meeting new people." Louis reminded, although it wasn't entirely true. This was because it was Harry's family that they were meeting. 

"Imagine how Liam feels then. He's probably already wet himself." Zayn snickered. "Just be cool and casual, you will be fine. And remember to introduce yourself as Louis, not Lily."

"Fuck you!" Louis whined, trying to kick his short leg out to hit Zayn, who managed to swerve it while chuckling to himself. "Please don't keep bringing that up."

"Whatever, man." Zayn sang to himself, stuffing his phone into his pocket as their taxi turned the corner towards them.

* * *

Zayn knocked formally on the glass of Harry's front door, holding his champagne bottle which he had bought for the occasion in his other hand. Louis was scared now. He was hot all over, to the point where he was surprised he hadn't melted the candles himself. A silhouette approached the door inside, and the door clicked open to reveal a woman who looked to be in her forties. She was very beautiful, very prominently Harry's mother, with large eyes like his and an identical smile - just as bright.

"Hi, lovelies, are you Harry's friends?" She brightly greeted, opening up the door for them to step inside. Louis allowed Zayn to do the talking.

"Yeah, I'm Zayn. That's Louis."

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Anne, Harry's mum."

"This is for you." Louis spoke up, handing her the candles, figuring the occasion wasn't special enough to wrap them up. A smile broke into Anne's face.

"Louis, Darling, aren't you sweet?" She beamed, taking the gift and patting him thankfully on the arm. She gratefully took Zayn's champagne bottle too, happy with both and showing her contempt.

"Please come in, we're all in the garden."

How many were included in "we're"? Louis was hoping not too many, because he was nervous enough as it is. Harry's mum was nice though, so maybe everybody was bound to be like that. The house was still so surreal. Louis glanced around the kitchen as Anne led them through, admiring the marble-tiled flooring and glossy worktops. There was a sliding glass door which led to a very spacious garden, in which people were situated in different places. A few tables were set out, with people of mainly Anne's age sipping from champagne glasses and chatting lightly amongst themselves. There was a table of gifts on the patio, where Anne set the candles and bottle of wine.

"Do grab a drink, boys, whatever you like. There are some beers on the drinks table if you like alcohol. I won't tell if you don't." She chuckled, gesturing to the table beneath a gazebo by the sliding doors. Anne wandered off to talk to a group of guests, so Louis and Zayn both grabbed a can of beer.

Louis' eyes scanned the garden, which must have held at least thirty people, as he opened his beer and took a swig. This was strange, he only recognised the faces of Zayn, and obviously Harry, Niall and Liam, who he could see kicking a football round at the bottom of the garden. They headed over there, waiting until they were noticed instead of making a loud entrance.

"Heeey, you made it!" Harry exclaimed to his two new arrivals, cheerfully, pushing his sunglasses up so they sat on top of his head. "We're just having a kickabout."

"Louis, heads!" Niall suddenly wailed, launching a ball full-force towards his head. Louis managed to catch the ball on his inner foot, doing a few keep-ups before booting it back to Niall.

"Nice," Harry complimented. "You're good with balls, Louis."

Zayn stifled a laugh, hiding it by taking a sip of his beverage, while Harry hadn't even noticed he'd said something wrong and had returned his attention to Niall and Liam. Or maybe he had noticed, and was doing it on purpose?

* * *

Louis should have guessed that Harry's garden would include a dug-in swimming pool. Harry suggested they all sit at the poolside and dangle their feet in the water, to cool them down from the sun, so that's what they did. His jeans were rolled halfway up his calves, allowing his feet to freely circle in the water. The boys could still hear the chatter and laughter of all of the guests from the other side of the garden, and the lively music being played, but were ultimately away from everything going on. Louis preferred it that way.

"This is a bit over the top, isn't it?" Harry breathed a laugh, as a silence overcame them, just a soft sound of splashing as they lashed their feet around in the cool water. "This whole housewarming thing. I reckon it's stupid."

"Really, posh boy?" Liam smirked, "Isn't this a usual occurrence for you?"

"Shu' up, Liam." Harry chuckled. "My mum's the posh one, me and Gemma have just been influenced."

"Gemma seems nice," Niall smirked. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, humorously.

"Nice?"

"He means hot." Zayn interjected, with a chuckle. Harry rolled his eyes, leaning forwards and cupping his hand in the water to lash a stream at Niall.

Louis was being far too quiet, but he just didn't know what to say. He would be talking his mouth off if Harry wasn't there, it's just when he was there Louis had to mentally process everything he wanted to say in case it was weird to Harry. He wanted to be chilled out and cool.

"Harry!" Anne's voice carried across the garden, so Harry whipped his head around in her direction. She was stood by the sliding doors, in front of all of the guests, as though she were performing some sort of act.

"Yeah?" Harry called back, a prime example of a teenager's laziness and inability to stand and walk over to her.

"Come here, I've got a surprise for you."

"I love surprises!" Harry gleefully exclaimed, standing himself up and waiting for his friends to follow. Louis liked watching other people being surprised, because when it was him he felt too 'in the centre of attention.' Harry strolled over with his friends, so they left trails of wet footprints on the hot patio. Anne had a wide smile as Harry crossed his arms when he was by her side, smiling at her.

"What is it?"

Anne pointed into the kitchen, through the glass of the doors, and as Harry's eyes followed the point, they widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Sophie?" He whispered, voice thick with disbelief and excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's Sophie then? Remember? :O
> 
> Sorry if there are any spelling errors, I will go over it all soon.
> 
> Alsooo, I was thinking about starting a series of Larry one-shots, ones suggested in the comments maybe. Just an idea :)


	8. The Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another update

It felt like somebody had carved open Louis' chest and brutally ripped out his heart once his brain had added up what was happening. Sophie. Harry's ex-girlfriend. The beautiful girl whose account Louis had scrolled through as envy bubbled up in his veins. He was completely frozen in place, watching as Sophie ran out into the garden and hurled herself into Harry's open arms.

No - this wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. This was a nightmare, and Louis was going to wake up just fine in five...four...three...two...

"I missed you so much, Baby." Harry whispered against the crook of Sophie's neck, as he buried his face in.

One.

The guests were all celebrating for the young reunited lovebirds, clapping and whooping. And Louis was still stood witnessing it all firsthand, heart sinking more by the second and a lump forming in his throat. He slowly glanced over to his left, seeing concern written all over Zayn's face as he looked straight back at him. He knew how much of an effect this would have on his friend. Niall and Liam were completely clueless, clapping along with gleaming eyes, while Zayn mimed 'I'm sorry' to an emotionless Louis.

Harry's embrace with Sophie lasted a good minute, AKA sixty seconds of agonising jealousy for Louis. Harry's smile was just so bright and he looked at Sophie so lovingly. Louis wanted that. That look was for Louis, not for Sophie. He and Harry were destined to get together sooner or later, he could just _feel_ it within himself. It would just take time.

He wanted to run away, or to just slip out of the garden and make his escape. He couldn't deal with this. Sophie was cuddled up to Harry, hand clasped around his waist, and Anne was taking photos of them now. Zayn noticed how empty Louis' eyes had suddenly become. He walked over, leaning into Louis and reading his mind.

"Should we go?"

Louis felt as though he would break into tears immediately if he uttered a single word, so he simply swallowed thickly in his throat and sternly nodded a confirmation. Zayn muttered something in Liam's ear, Louis was hoping some sort of convincing lie, and Liam gave him a communicative thumbs up. They had to quickly grab their shoes and socks from beside the pool, taking advantage of how distracted everybody was by Harry and Sophie, carrying them and walking barefoot towards the house, slipping into the kitchen.

"Louis, I don't even know what to say." Zayn sighed, as they reached the hallway. "This must be... this must be so hard, man."

Louis didn't reply. Why did Harry mean so fucking much to him? He had known him a week, yet seeing him with a girl he was so fond of felt like he had been stabbed. This was bad. This was an obsession.

"Look," Zayn muttered, when they had left the house altogether and were walking across the smooth pebbles on the drive, reaching the garden wall at the end so they could slip their shoes on. "Just know that everything happens for a reason. Maybe Harry would be a shit person to be in a relationship with?"

"Stop trying to make it better." Louis managed. "I'm done with it."

"You're not-"

"Zayn, I am done. Stop." Louis snapped, causing Zayn's eyes to widen slightly, lifting his hands in defence.

"Sorry, man, wow."

Louis was right. It felt as though everything had just stopped, and he didn't really feel anything other than jealousy and shock. Nobody understood how much this hurt for him, to watch somebody he was so infatuated by reunite with a past girlfriend. It seemed as though he was still pretty fond of her as well. The more he thought about it, the more sick to the stomach he really felt. They were probably going to spend all evening sitting all over each other and kissing and cuddling. They were probably going to have sex that evening, while Louis sat at home alone. He wanted to punch something. A wall. He wanted to punch a wall.

"Zayn, I'm going to punch something." Louis threatened, teeth gritted. "I'm going to fucking punch something, I swear to God."

"Louis, the worst emotion you can feel right now is anger. Just calm down, yeah?"

"Calm down? Did you not see that?!" Louis stormed to his feet, beginning to pace up and down the path in front of Zayn in fury. "Them being all fucking cute and loved up, wasn't it all so fucking adorable?!"

"Louis, please."

"PLEASE WHAT?! ZAYN, YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH IT HURTS!" And on the final word, Louis' fist came in brutal contact with the brick wall, causing him to angrily yell in pain and shake his freshly injured hand. 

Zayn's eyes were wide as saucers as he rushed to his feet, hurrying over to Louis who had crumbled to the floor and was kneeling with his head hung low, watching the blood trickling sadly from his knuckles. He was shakily sobbing as Zayn put an arm around him, encasing him in a secure hug and softly rubbing his back.

"Shit, Louis," He whispered, holding the older boy's wrist so he could admire the bloodied mess he had created. "Look what you've done to yourself. This is what you're letting Harry do to you."

"I know." Louis breathed, snivelling and wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"You just freaked out. Don't panic. Please stop crying." Zayn frowned, eyebrows furrowed as the whole situation was so perturbing. "You're obsessed. Louis, you're obsessed, aren't you?"

Louis just nodded.

* * *

Louis told his mum that he had been messing around with his friends and they were all seeing who could punch the wall the hardest, and he had won. Although this portrayed him as being dumb and foolish, it was better than saying it was due to jealousy and anger.

The blood had dried overnight, leaving ugly, dark cuts on his knuckles. His injured hands managed to message Harry using the Lily account on Sunday morning, though. Harry probably wouldn't even reply anymore. 

Shit!

What if Harry didn't respond to Lily's messages anymore because he had Sophie back in his life?! What would Louis do then? But as Zayn had said, everything happened for a reason. Maybe Sophie returned so Louis _would_ feel inclined to delete the account and save himself from pursuing the obsession any further. Either way, the message was sent and couldn't be taken back now.

 **Lily Henderson:** _I was thinking of you this morning. How are you doing Xx_

It was true. Louis was thinking about Harry. But mainly about how Harry and Sophie were probably waking up together right now. He was almost shocked when he saw that Harry was typing. He anticipated a reply along the lines of 'Sorry Lily, back with my girlfriend, can't talk to you anymore', but he got something almost completely opposite.

 **Harry Styles:** _Really?? I can't really think of anything right now. I'm feeling really worried .xx_

Worried? About Sophie? Maybe he was having doubts after all. Louis had assumed everything between them would just be perfect now, but perhaps it was different to his interpretation.

 **Lily Henderson:** _What are you worried about? Xx_

Harry took a couple of minutes to respond this time. He was typing, then he stopped. Then he was typing again.

 **Harry Styles:** _About my friend Louis .xx_

"Oh shit." Louis whispered aloud, heart thudding lightly. What if Zayn had told him? What if Harry had heard what was happening outside? This wasn't good. Harry purely mentioned Louis too, not Zayn. What if Harry was worried because of how deeply obsessed Louis was with him? This was bad. Louis didn't know what to do.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Why are u worried about him Xx_

Louis was holding his breath as he saw that Harry was typing. This was it.

The notification sounded, after a few agonising moments.

 **Harry Styles:** _My family and I had this housewarming party yesterday. He was there. He left early with our mate Zayn.....I'm not sure why. I'm worried about Louis because Zayn told me he punched a wall and cut all his hand open :( .xx_

_**FUCK!** _

Oh shit. Shit! Louis was actually going to strangle Zayn! All Harry had to do was put two and two together, and voila! He would work out that it was because of Sophie's arrival.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Oh that's not good:(. Do u know why he did Xx_

Louis was utterly terrified for the response. He wished he could undo everything that had happened since Harry had walked through the classroom door. He wouldn't have made the dumb account and wouldn't have let himself get so obsessed. It was mentally draining him and he was living in constant fear of Harry finding out.

 **Harry Styles:** _Zayn said it was because Louis got a text from his mum saying his grandfather has passed away. It is hard losing a family member, I've been through it .xx_

Well... plausible? Maybe Zayn hadn't been so bad after all. He was probably just covering for Louis, so Harry and the others didn't get too suspicious about how and why Louis had those cuts on his knuckles.

 **Lily Henderson:** _yeah it can be really upsetting. just give him lots of hugs and make sure he is okay :) Xx_

Hell yeah, Louis was up for that. If he could learn to be less awkward.

 **Harry Styles:** _He's got a big hug coming his way tomorrow :) .xx_

Louis was overcome with excitement for a moment. Then upset again when he remembered Sophie.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Yeah i bet he will appreciate that Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _Yes... I bet he will fucking like it .xx_

Wait, what?

 **Lily Henderson:** _What do u mean, what's with the sudden swear haha Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _He would like my body against his. I'm just that irresistible to everyone .xx_

Oh no. Oh my _God_. Did he know? Had he really known all this time? Louis had been too obvious. He just knew it!

 **Lily Henderson:** _Ahaha would you like his against yours too, that what ur saying? ;) Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _I don't know Lily, I've never tried anything with a boy .xx_

Louis liked where this conversation was heading. Harry hadn't given a hasty 'no', which sparked hope within Louis.

 **Lily Henderson:** _omg would u ever?? If you had to with one of your mates!! Xx_

Louis felt quite turned on by this. This all meant that Harry was currently thinking about being sexual with another boy; his mind was visualising what it would be like. 

**Harry Styles:** _Probably with Louis actually. He has such a nice bum, I can't even deny that as a straight boy .xx_

Oh. My. God.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Really? Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _He really does yeah. Is it bad I imagine slapping it WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS? .xx_

Louis was lost for words. He had always been given compliments on his nice his arse was, but it was totally different from Harry. Harry had thought about slapping it! He had thought of Louis sexually and hadn't even shown it. God knows what else he had imagined.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Haha I won't tell anyone Harry. Your secrets safe with me Xx_

Louis still couldn't quite figure out what was happening, let alone how to react. Did he carry on the conversation sexually? Yes, of course he did.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Have u ever imagined fucking his 'nice bum' Xx_

He wasn't even thinking about how 'Lily Henderson' wouldn't typically want to know about Harry and his male friend. He didn't care, he needed to know this.

 **Harry Styles:** _Stop making me visualise fucking one of my mates, it's in my head oh my god .xx_

Exactly what Louis wanted. But that was enough for now, any more would be too suspicious. He loved how Harry may have been typing this while Sophie was in the room. It was so great.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Haha sorry Harry ;) Xx_

Harry didn't reply again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too long but HAPPY LOUIS?!


	9. The Interaction

Waking up to the sound of arguing between younger siblings was hardly uncommon in Louis' house. Forget the tranquil chirping of birdsong, instead Louis was treated to _'That's my hairbrush! Give it back!'_ at twenty minutes past six in the morning. Absolute bliss - not.

Thinking about what Harry had said about him the night before did spark life into him and aid him in jumping out of bed, though. It injected him with a dose of temporary happiness, which really was something he had needed to gain for quite some time now. Harry brought that into his life. Well, when Sophie wasn't turning up and being all loved up with him again. That did the opposite.

As Louis brushed his teeth in the bathroom, he stood to the side so he could get a look at how his bum looked from that angle. He had always received comments about it being so full and voluptuous, people asking whether he did squats to gain it. He didn't, he was simply blessed with it. The thought of Harry checking it out when Louis wasn't looking actually sent shivers down his spine. He wondered whether his was nicer than Sophie's. He would have to anonymously ask that at some point.

He was ripped from his daydream about Harry's bum preferences as there was heavy thudding on the door, his sister Lottie raging about him taking too long. Harry was distracting Louis from absolutely everything.

"Sorry, just finishing up," Louis spoke with a mouth full of tooth paste foam, spitting it into the sink before washing his toothbrush clean.

* * *

Louis _had_ to show off his assets today, didn't he? Now that he knew Harry liked his bum, he had the power. So he purposely pulled up his jeans when he was walking in front of Harry, as their group passed through the school corridor, and just knew that Harry had seen. It was so invigorating to do, whilst acting totally innocent.

How was such a hot boy like Harry paying attention to Louis' body? It was a glorious concept. Even if Harry was only caring about Louis' body and not him as a person. He would most certainly allow Harry to take advantage of his body if he wanted to.

Louis shouldn't have been thinking about that while he sat in class, because it clouded his mind and distracted him from his education. Just the thought of sleeping with Harry was something that, when thought about to an extent, it could be imagined for a while in Louis' mind. It was turning him on though, so he did need to stop himself after a moment because both that thought and the way Harry was sat with one leg propped up on the radiator, making his bulge significantly more prominent, would soon make him hard in class. That would be a nightmare.

* * *

"Harry's girlfriend, Sophie, is so nice!" Niall ranted, as he sat with Louis and Liam in the latter's bedroom. "I chatted with her a bit. Lovely girl."

This was the worst possible scenario because neither of them knew about Louis' infatuation with Harry. If Zayn had been there, he could have turned the subject around or said something in Louis' defence, to make him feel better, but right now he was just stuck in the middle of this one.

"Are they back together?" Louis tried to ask it casually, feeling as though he was over acting, but it wasn't clear to the other boys. What was obvious to him was invisible to them.

"If their make-out session was anything to go by. Christ, they were practically having sex with their mouths." Liam rolled his eyes, clearly not a fan of PDA, while Louis felt sick to his stomach with jealousy. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't Harry have just started a completely, maybe even gay, new life where Sophie wasn't returning to ruin it all?

"How long's she here for?" Louis grilled. It was best to ask two people who were anonymous to his crush than ask Zayn or Harry and feel awkward.

"Depends how well they get on, I think," Niall smiled to himself. "She may even move here, she said."

"Don't say that." Louis sighed, before he could stop himself. He wasn't supposed to say it as loudly as he did.

"What?" Liam piped up.

"I said 'don't say that', her moving here would mean having to constantly watch them making out." Louis saved it quite well, he thought. It was believable anyway, because Niall and Liam laughed along to his joke and agreed. 

Wait -- shit! Louis had only just processed what Niall had said. Surely Sophie wouldn't move, would she? That would be absolutely shit for Louis, he wouldn't ever want to be around Harry if Sophie was in his life. He really hoped this wasn't true. He felt so worthless when he thought about how beautiful Sophie was.

What if he messaged her through the Lily account? It would be completely anonymous (so long as Zayn didn't find out) and he could say anything to her and it would be totally private. What would be a good thing to say? A simple 'back off, you're out of Harry's life now, don't try to get back into it'? Was that too harsh?

And believe it or not, the moment Louis arrived home, he kicked off his shoes by the stairs and ran up to his bedroom. His laptop was already on his desk, so he logged in and was brought immediately to Lily's Facebook feed. He was typing Harry's name into the search bar and loading up his profile.

Harry had posted a relationship update 35 minutes ago:

"Harry Styles went from being **single** to **it's complicated**."

Louis felt like wincing at the emotional pain that it brought him. 'It's complicated' was definitely better than 'in a relationship', but it was still bad that Harry was considering getting back with Sophie. After all, he had mentioned back on his first day that the only reason they broke up was because it would make their relationship long distance - It wouldn't be anymore if she moved over.

Louis added Sophie as a friend off the Lily account, not even hesitating to do so, before sending Harry a message.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Hi Harry, I see you're not quite single anymore Xx_

It was unexplainable how low Louis felt inside. It was like his body had been overtaken with pure dread and sadness that wouldn't ever be taken away. He was going back to feeling how he did before Harry joined the school.

 **Harry Styles:** _Let me be honest here Lily, I only put that to please my ex. I still consider her my ex. She came over to Doncaster from Cheshire to visit me and idk what to do because I think she wants to get back with me but I was hoping to start fresh .xx_

Well that was a huge fucking relief. It felt like a physical weight had been lifted from Louis' shoulders as he felt the reply, and he felt the life flooding back into him to wash out the dread. Harry had probably only done it to make Sophie feel better. Unless he was just a major "fuckboy" and wanted to keep talking to Lily despite being with Sophie. It didn't seem in his demeanour but was possible nonetheless.

_"Sophie Brooks accepted your friend request."_

Louis was really, really hoping that Sophie wouldn't show Harry that 'Lily' had added her. He hadn't really thought this through before carrying it out but there was no turning back now. He was feeling extra risky and hidden by the wall of anonymity that he stupidly decided he would send Sophie a message.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Hey thanks for accepting_

The message was read almost immediately, but the reply was delayed. Louis was slightly worrying now, despite being practically hidden by another identity, as Sophie started typing.

 **Sophie Brooks:** _Yeah no problem, your friends with Harry so I thought why not_

Louis cringed at the incorrect shortened usage of 'you are'. Grammar ability was always something he used to categorise people, as much as he tried not to let it, and Sophie right now had another reason to be in his bad books.

 **Lily Henderson:** _I've been talking to him a little over a week now. He's very, very nice :)_

There was a devious smile curling onto Louis' face, watching as Sophie read the message and was typing instantly.

 **Sophie Brooks:** _He is. And he is also my boyfriend so back off a little??_

 **Lily Henderson:** _That's not what he told me_

This was so bad to do. This was really bad. Louis was already corrupting their possibly growing relationship for his own selfish gain. But it was so worth it, he wanted them to be in conflict because he wanted Harry.

Sophie didn't reply again. Louis guessed they were probably arguing

* * *

Harry didn't look the slightest bit upset when Louis saw him at school the next day. In fact, he was rather very euphoric for early morning. Perhaps they had argued and Harry was happy about it, or maybe they didn't argue at all. It was something Louis just wouldn't know.

He realised that he still hadn't spoken to Harry one-on-one without the others being around. Once they had broken that barrier, they would most likely be more comfortable around one another and maybe Louis would feel more confident in himself too. It was just so difficult because Louis was so damn attracted to Harry and could never think up coherent or befitting things to say. He knew he would end up stuttering and making a fool of himself in front of a 'mate.'

He still couldn't get over Harry's comment on his bum. It was constantly on his mind when their group were walking around: "is Harry checking me out right now?" He had to do something that would briefly sexually satisfy him, so he ceased his opportunity when they were all walking over the field. Louis positioned himself so he was walking in front of Harry with no more than a metre between them and then he 'accidentally' dropped his bag, immediately bending over to get it.

His plan worked. It fucking worked. Harry walked straight into Louis, crotch connecting with Louis' arse, and he almost instinctively placed his hands on Louis' hips to stabilise them both. It was one of the hottest things Louis had ever experienced, and he could feel Harry's body against his and his large hands on him and he couldn't get over it. Harry must have lingered there for at least three seconds before moving. For a moment they had both forgotten that their other friends were there.

"Woah, guys, get a room!" Zayn immediately commented, before Niall began wolf-whistling. Zayn knew what he was doing to Louis by saying what he did, shooting a very smug smile his way, and he also most certainly knew that Louis had done it on purpose.

Harry was blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it was a bit shorter than usual, I will start writing some longer chapters when they're more interesting and full of drama!


	10. The Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full of Larry tension omg

It was probably one of the riskiest things Louis could do, honestly, but he chose to message Harry off the Lily account during fourth period. Louis sat at the back of the room on his own, as they had biology and that was the seating plan, and he had a clear view of Harry from across the room without his general awareness. He was already scrolling through his phone beneath the table, despite their patronising, wary teacher patrolling around the front of the room as they lectured about whatever Louis couldn't care to pay attention to, so Harry would most definitely reply to whatever came through to his phone.

Louis logged on to the Lily Henderson Facebook account on his phone, glancing up briefly to make sure no one was watching him on his phone and would tell their teacher. He then typed out a quick message to Harry before almost too obviously putting his phone down on his lap as though he wasn't guilty one bit.

 **Lily Henderson:** _What are you up to? Xx_

Louis watched as Harry stopped scrolling through his phone momentarily, eyes focusing on the screen more thoroughly, before he lifted his left hand to join his right and started typing. It was weird knowing that Harry was responding to something _Louis_ had sent, yet he had no idea. Louis was literally in the same room as him.

 **Harry Styles:** _In class, sooooo bored! Oh and I need to tell you something haha .xx_

Finally, maybe Harry was about to dish out some gossip. It could even be about his relationship with Sophie, an update that would lighten Louis' mood up for the rest of the day. Louis smiled softly at the screen, thumbing out his response speedily when he was sure Harry wasn't looking over (not that he ever would particularly look in Louis' direction anyway, without a reason.)

 **Lily Henderson:** _What you gotta tell me? Enlighten me Styles Xx_

Louis watched a smirk curl up onto Harry's face as his eyes scanned the message, peering up quickly towards their teacher (who was ranting on about osmosis) before responding in lightning speed.

 **Harry Styles:** _Remember you kept making those comments about Louis and his body yeah?? Well I had a dream last night where I fucked him!!! .xx_

Louis breathed in harshly as he read Harry's reply, but the inhale wasn't sharp enough to capture anybody's attention. Was this really happening? It was definitely because of Louis bending over in front of Harry the previous day. Harry had completely taken in the sexual tension and had thought lustfully of Louis when their bodies briefly met. He was honestly speechless, but Lily couldn't be.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Wow haha, was it hot then?? Even for a straight boy?? ;) Xx_

What made this all the more hot for Louis was the fact that he and Harry were sat in class as the conversation happened, and Louis was supposedly "oblivious" to it all. There was still a smirk on Harry's face and Louis couldn't describe what effect this was having on his insides.

 **Harry Styles:** _It was quite fucking hot.....but would prefer fucking you .xx_

That was... both good and bad. Harry admitted that the dream was hot! He tried to let this fact override the comment that Harry would have preferred a girl, because Louis was honestly getting so lucky at the moment. Did all of this mean Harry was attracted to Louis, or just to his body?

Louis knew he had to reply as though he were Lily. But he couldn't hold back a slight smile as he replied.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Bet you'd fuck pretty hard. Did you fuck Louis hard in your dream?? Xx_

Louis put down his phone just in the nick of time, because Harry glanced straight in his direction with such an intense stare that it made Louis shiver. Obviously Louis had to simply pretend he had only just acknowledged Harry, giving a friendly smile as though he had only just stopped concentrating on the lesson to do so, and Harry smiled back a little too sweetly before turning his attention back to his phone. The tension coursing through Louis' veins was almost unbearable at that moment. 

**Harry Styles:** _I Fucked him so hard Lily .xx_

Louis was flooded with arousal. That message plus the look Harry had just given him was way too much to handle. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was so stuck on what to do and he was so turned on that he was in fear of sporting an erection in the middle of class. His mind couldn't think straight.

 **Lily Henderson:** _You better stop or you'll get hard in class ;) Xx_

Louis watched Harry look down at his own crotch, readjusting in his seat before crossing one of his long legs over the other.

 **Harry Styles:** _You're right .xx_

Louis' life was getting a whole lot better right now.

* * *

"Where are we going for lunch?" Liam asked in a rather monotone voice, stomping along moodily as Niall led the group through the corridors.

"Onto the field, Li. Where else would we go?"

To Louis it felt like there was an intense aura around Harry now, since he had found out what the tall lad had dreamt about the previous night. Man, did Louis want Harry to fuck him hard in real life. He could feel Harry looking at his arse again as they walked -- He could just sense it from by his side. He wanted to increase the sexual tension between them, so he hastily looked up at Harry and caught him right in the act. Harry looked like a deer caught in the headlights, and Louis could practically _see_ him conjuring up an excuse as to why he was looking.

"You've got a piece of thread stuck to your bum, let me get it off."

And then Harry was reaching out and quite slowly and obviously pretending to remove said piece of thread from Louis, so his hand made contact with Louis' bum for a good couple of seconds. Louis wanted Harry's hands on him forever. Zayn watched in utter disbelief from the side. Louis wanted to drop Harry a witty 'why were you looking there anyway?' but he figured he would get off Harry's back and just appreciate that he had actually touched him.

* * *

Louis (well, Lily) received a message from Harry early the next morning. It had been sent at just gone quarter to two in the morning, but Louis didn't see it until his alarm went off at quarter to seven.

 **Harry Styles:** _I didn't really have a dream where I fucked Louis I was joking!!!! I am straight so why would you believe I would dream about that haha! .xx_

Louis' already sleepy eyes squinted significantly more in disbelief as he read Harry's message. He had obviously been up late thinking and had regretted telling Lily about his gay dream so was trying to deny it. If he really hadn't dreamt about it, why would he think up a joke like that? It just seemed weird.

It was sad really, how he wasn't accepting the fact that he was having sexual thoughts about someone of his gender. Maybe he really was joking, to start a conversation and cure his in-class boredom? But if so, why did he give Louis such an intense look? Why had he checked his own crotch, as though to make it look as inconspicuous as possible? And why had he made an excuse to touch Louis, after getting caught checking him out?

He was definitely hiding something. He at least liked Louis' body - that was _too_ plain obvious now. But he just didn't want to admit it to himself.

 **Lily Henderson:** _If you say so. Anyway, more for me if you're straight Xx_

Why did Louis even put that? It didn't favour him in any way whatsoever. He was just getting too much into the mindset of Lily Henderson to think about what he himself would want.

* * *

Harry invited everybody round to his house again after school that afternoon. Louis agreed, but had completely forgotten about Sophie's general existence. When they all walked up to Harry's bedroom and Sophie was sat up there, at his desk, there was no escape for him now. He was just frozen in place now, as Sophie span in the swivel chair to greet them all with a smile.

"Hey, Guys." Her voice was high and sweet. "I don't think I've met you two." She nodded to Louis and then to Zayn.

"Oh, I'm Zayn. That's Louis."

Zayn was honestly a God for speaking for Louis. He knew how bad this was for his friend and wanted to make it as painless as possible for him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sophie, Harry's-"

"Where did I put my Xbox controller?" Harry intentionally cut her off before she could label herself as his girlfriend. Louis wanted to shriek with laughter, but Sophie wasn't too bothered, seemingly too dim to realise what Harry had done so purposely. What made it even funnier was how he didn't even pretend to look for the controller, he simply sat on his bed and invited his mates to do the same.

Louis' phone buzzed in his pocket as he sat down, seeing that Zayn must have been the culprit as he had his phone in his hands. Louis quickly turned his phone from vibrate to silent, unlocking it to see a text. 

**From Zayn:** _This must be so awkward for you man, omfg_

Louis glanced up at Zayn with a deathly stare, as though to say 'don't even go there.' 

**From Louis:** _Mate I want to jump out of the window right now!! Xx_

Louis was so used to putting kisses as Lily that he had sent them by accident to Zayn. He immediately flushed red and felt immensely embarrassed.

 **From Louis:** _Ignore the kisses_

 **From Zayn:** _I refuse to ignore them, I will accept your love xxxxxxx_

Louis glanced up at Zayn and rolled his eyes, causing Zayn to chuckle of himself. The two boys were so concentrated on texting one another that they hadn't realised that the other four people within the room were in complete silence, and were pretty much watching their every move. Louis awkwardly locked his phone and placed it down next to him on the bed, in a bid to remove the attention from himself.

"Anyway, what do you guys want to do?" Harry questioned, sounding quiet impatient as though he had been waiting for the boys to stop secretly texting, like a teacher. "I have no plans, I probably should seeing as I'm the host."

"Let's just have a gang bang." Niall decided to maximise the awkwardness by 5000%. That was probably one of the worst things he could say. "We have a girl now, why not."

Sophie was chuckling to herself, while Liam gave Niall a 'stop' look and Harry looked like he was about to die of awkwardness. Louis especially felt very out of place, and as he saw Niall's eyes land on him, he just knew that a comment was coming next. God, _please_ no.

"There are more boys than girls, Louis, so you'll definitely enjoy it."

There were five pairs of eyes on Louis now, but the only pair that burned into him like no others were Harry's. Sophie was staring at Louis like he was some sort of zoo animal. Zayn looked angry with Niall for saying it and Liam looked embarrassed for Louis, but Harry's face was just purely blank. 

Louis' eyes linked with Harry's a moment later. What was he thinking as the silence overcame them all? Was he surprised? Disgusted? Speechless?

And then, very, very subtly as he looked at Louis, Harry's tongue trailed along his bottom lip and he caught his bottom lip between his teeth, lasting a good few seconds, before completely stopping it and acting as though it hadn't happened.

These actions said it all. It was like a mild sexual gesture that made Louis' head spin and his heart beat unevenly just for a moment. 

What the hell was going on with Harry?


	11. The Oblivion

Louis had noticed that the sole purpose of the Lily Henderson account was transforming, from being used to get to know Harry, to getting him to notice Louis sexually. But that was definitely okay, and it was most certainly working if the way Harry licked and bit his lip at Louis was anything to go by.

This was all so surreal. Harry was just so stunning and Louis never really got attention from anyone like that. He had been in relationships before, but with guys who were average looking -- decent. Harry Styles was on a whole other level. Another league. And he was dropping hints every day that he was slightly interested in whatever Louis had to offer him.

Louis was absolutely _dying_ to tell Zayn about what was advancing between he and Harry, but he wasn't sure how it would be taken. Zayn had a rather bemusing way of approaching things, telling Louis be should delete the account, and then dropping comments at school that helped Louis on his quest to get Harry. It was like he wanted to be mature and grown-up about the situation, in case Louis got hurt by being too risky, but then again he was too cool and casual to keep it up. He just let things happen after a while, the world worked in whatever way it was supposed to and he didn't like to change that.

When he and Zayn went for their weekly trip out to the diner in the city centre, he didn't even need to bring anything Harry-related up, because Zayn was the one to do it. The waitress brought their milkshakes over, placing them on the table in front of them. She was clearly trying to act very alluring towards Zayn, swaying her hips as she walked and pursing her lips a bit at him, which wasn't surprising because he was a very attractive guy and usually had girls crushing on him. What Louis found hilarious was how Zayn never even noticed when girls were all over him, he was too concentrated on whatever else was happening, and right now he was talking to his mate and gave her no more than a sidelong glance and a 'thank you.'

"So, Louis," Zayn interjected, once the woman who wanted to be Mrs. Malik had left their tableside. "Tell me what you've been sending to Harry."

Louis almost choked on his milkshake, swallowing abruptly before cocking an eyebrow at his friend. "Zayn, not this. I though you were mad anyway?"

"I'm not mad, Louis. You don't have to show me what you've said, just tell me. What's he been saying at least?" Zayn looked very eager to know, peering up at Louis as he took a sip through his milkshake straw. "Pretty please?"

Louis warily glanced around their table, at neighbouring diners, before leaning forwards slightly and lowering his voice. "He said he had a dream where he fucked me, Zayn."

"You mean where he fucked Lily, not you." Zayn chuckled. Oh, certainly not. Zayn was about to get hit by the weirdest thing he could ever hear.

"Nope. About me. About Louis." Louis said, referring to himself in third person. This was all getting very confusing, he was beginning to feel like he was somebody with two separate personalities which he had to keep referring to as individuals. He watched as Zayn's eyes widened slightly, eyebrows furrowing.

"You're lying."

"I swear to you, I'm telling the truth." Louis beseeched. He knew this would be a good time to show Zayn the message itself, but he also remembered that he had been putting very provocative comments himself and Zayn would laugh at him and take the piss.

"I don't believe you. That's something you'd _want_ him to say." Zayn smirked, twirling his straw around in the thick beverage. "You're gonna have to prove it to me, Tommo."

Damn it, Louis really hadn't thought this through. It wasn't that bad, was it? Only an itty bitty comment about whether Harry fucked Louis hard in the dream. And whether he found it hot 'even as a straight boy'. And whether Harry was hard just thinking about it. Zayn would surely understand.

"If you don't take the piss out of me." Louis wailed, while getting his phone out his pocket and unlocking it.

"I won't, I just don't believe he said it." Zayn stuck with his belief, pushing the boundaries of Louis' insecurities. _'Does he not believe it because I'm too ugly for Harry to like in that way?'_ He didn't make his thought known, but it stuck with him.

He scrolled up to the legendary section of the conversation, slightly cringing at what he had put. He tried to cover his response to Harry's message of 'Remember you kept making those comments about Louis and his body yeah?? Well I had a dream last night where I fucked him!!! .xx' with his thumb.

He watched Zayn's eyes scanned over Harry's message, eyes widening even more, stunned that Louis was telling the truth.

"Wait, let me see what you put?" Zayn urged, batting Louis' hand away and taking the phone completely. Louis didn't even try to stop it, he just nervously bit on his thumbnail as he waited for Zayn to finish reading, scrolling through the messages.

"Bet you'd fuck pretty hard. Did you fuck Louis hard in your dream?" Zayn read aloud, putting on a girly voice and causing Louis to flush red and bow his head slightly, when people around them started looking. "I fucked him so hard, Lily." He said in a mock of Harry's deep voice.

"Zayn, stop it!" Louis whined, snatching back his phone. "People are looking, you're so embarrassing."

Zayn was in absolute fits of laughter, so much so that tears were gathering at the inner corners of his eyes that he had to wipe away. "He wants to bang you, oh my God, it's priceless!"

"I told you not to take the piss." Louis frowned, throwing a strop and crossing his arms. "Thanks for that."

"Aww, Lou, I didn't mean it, man." Zayn calmed down, breathing steadying again after laughing so hard. "But... wait, I just processed all of this."

"Yeah, and what?"

"Harry's _gay_? But what about Sophie?"

Louis breathed a laugh. "I'd say he's more bicurious. And about Sophie..." He scrolled up to where he had asked whether Harry was still single, to which Harry had said he only wanted to make Sophie happy. Zayn's eyes took in the message, looking a little bit shocked.

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

"I have seen him checking our your bum too, mate, in school. Thought I should probably tell you that now. And picking that fucking imaginary piece of thread off you, wow." Zayn gave a cute giggle, eyes shining. "He likes you."

No, he liked Louis' body. There was a difference.

"He also said that to 'Lily'." Louis informed him, with finger quotes around the name. "Said he imagines slapping it."

"Christ," Zayn shook his head with a laugh. "It's quite funny, really. So many girls like him and want to get his attention, but he's too busy checking _you_ out."

Louis' stomach flipped and erupted with butterflies. Hearing that from another mouth really did give him so many different feelings; he didn't quite know what to say. It was nice to get it all off his back and have somebody else aware of what Harry was doing to him.

"Hold up, yesterday when Niall made a comment about you liking boys over girls," Zayn analysed, staring into space as though trying to remember what had happened. "Harry bit his lip and looked at you. I saw that."

Oh, God. It was all true. Louis wasn't overlooking a thing.

"Yeah, I didn't know what to think of that."

"He wants you. _God_ , he wants you, Louis." Zayn shook his head in absolute disbelief. "It's funny how much he does, how obvious it is now."

"Well, I reckon he only likes my body. Not me."

"Message him now. On the girl account, obviously," Zayn persuaded, nudging Louis' phone closer his way on the tabletop with his index finger. "I wanna see how he reacts to things _live_." He smirked.

Louis rolled his eyes, unlocking his phone. "What am I putting?"

"Tell him... that you think he should 'give it a go and try it on with Louis.'"

"It will be so obvious." Louis refused, shaking his head.

"Fine, umm... say you think he should explore his sexuality? See what he says." Zayn suggested. "That's good enough, isn't it?"

Louis sighed and shrugged. What was there to lose? This all felt slightly mean, as Harry didn't know two of his closest friends were doing this, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him... right?

 **Lily Henderson:** _Harry, I was thinking why don't u experiment with your sexuality? Seeing as you're dreaming about fucking ur mate Xx_

He showed Zayn the drafted message for approval, before receiving the nod and sending it. Harry had read it within seconds. Zayn raised his eyebrows at that. "He's well keen to talk about you." He smirked.

 **Harry Styles:** _Found out yesterday that Louis is bisexual .xx_

"Woooah, he mentioned you immediately, mate!" Zayn exclaimed, excitedly hitting Louis' forearm. Louis was very excited about this too, heart thudding and a smile making its way onto his face. Was this even happening right now?

 **Lily Henderson:** _Really?? Does he like you though Xx_

"Ooh, controversial. I like it." Zayn rubbed his hands together with a mischievous smile. "He's typing, Louis."

 **Harry Styles:** _Well I am hot aren't I? .xx_

"Vain shit," Zayn chuckled, clearly performing all the unnecessary commentary on this conversation. "He has the right to be, though. He is bloody hot. Stupid Harry."

 **Lily Henderson:** _Yes you are but it doesn't mean ur his type Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _He purposely bent over in front of me the other day to pick up his bag. He is teasing me Lily .xx_

"On the field when you dropped your bag! That was on purpose, I knew it!" Zayn erupted in delight, so Louis had to hush him to eliminate the dirty looks that they were receiving from other customers. "Lou, you really are something else."

"It had to be done." Louis shrugged, with a chuckle

Harry knew it was on purpose. He had considered it as being Louis teasing him. Fuck, that was hot. It just added to the endless tension and Louis was glad it had worked.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Do something to him that tells him you want him. See how he responds? Xx_

Zayn smirked at Louis.

 **Harry Styles:** _Like what? Wait, why are you so determined to get me with him haha .xx_

"Shit!" Louis laughed. "We have to think of something!"

"Say girls find that gay shit hot." Zayn dismissed.

"They do?"

"Apparently. Just say it."

 **Lily Henderson:** _Because it's hot Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _Oh wow, okay ;) but what should I do? It has to be subtle .xx_

Harry was really planning on doing something. Oh, God, this was actually happening. Was this some weird dream? It was definitely a dream.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Do what comes naturally. Good luck, gotta go now Xx_

"Nooo, Louis! This is my entertainment! Don't stop talking now!" Zayn complained, earning a slap on the wrist from Louis.

 **Harry Styles:** _I guess so. Okay, speak another time beautiful (btw still prefer girls .xx)_

Louis rolled his eyes, returning to his phone's home screen before locking it.

"So... good luck." Zayn smirked. 

Fuck, Louis wasn't ready for this.

* * *

Louis could feel Zayn's smug gaze burning into him as Harry strolled over the field to join their group. He looked so fucking good as he approached them.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=6dwtib)

Louis tried not to stare, he really did. It was just Harry made every outfit look immensely good and Louis couldn't work out why. Well, obviously it was because Harry had killer long legs and a gorgeous face.

"Hey, Guys." He grinned as he reached them, pearly white teeth on display. He took off his sunglasses and folded them over the collar of his t-shirt.

"Here he is," Niall greeted very casually, pulling Harry into a half 'bro-hug.' Zayn was still looking at Louis smugly, for so long that Louis had to give him a secret glare to make him stop.

"How are we all?" Harry questioned the boys, eyes scanning over the four of them. He gave an almost different look altogether to Louis, like he squinted his eyes slightly, before they went back to normal when acknowledging Zayn. It was beginning: Louis was going to get treated differently to the others, but for all the best reasons. He was just glad that Zayn knew too, so he wasn't alone in knowing that Harry could do something suggestive today.

The first thing Harry did do occurred while they were in the queue in the canteen. Niall was with them, but Liam and Zayn were waiting to the side because they didn't need to buy food. As everybody in the queue took a step forward, when somebody at the front had finished paying, Harry took the equivalent of a step _plus_ the space between Louis and himself, meaning he was pressed up spine-tinglingly close to Louis' back. Harry's stomach was pressed right to his back, meaning so was his crotch.

Louis didn't know what to do. It was so fucking hot, he needed Zayn to help him but he was busy chatting to Liam the other side of the room. Niall too was busy, scrolling through his Instagram feed on his phone, to pay attention to what was happening.

"Sorry, Louis," Harry put on a painfully artificial chuckle, causing Louis to jump slightly at the sudden speech. "Didn't mean to stand so close. Sorry."

And he took a step back again, and Louis didn't like how the warmth of a hot guy had left him. He was flushing hot all over. Harry was so much taller than him and was so capable of absolutely _wrecking_ him if he wanted it so bad.

The other thing Harry did was verbal, not physical, but it still hit Louis and made him feel hot all over. Harry and Liam were discussing music in general, as that's where the conversation had turned, and Liam was on a detailed rant about his favourite genres and bands. Harry seemed to be deep in thought, not taking in many of Liam's words, and Louis was wondering whether he really was thinking of what he could say that would affect Louis. 

"What music do you like, Harry?" Liam smiled, having finished his long, uninteresting rant (bless him). A smirk curled onto Harry's face at the opportunity.

"Depends. Sometimes something nice and slow," His voice was alluringly deep and slow, and his eyes fell onto Louis, so blatantly that it was almost painful to experience. "But mostly fast-paced and hard-hitting. You know, the feel-good stuff." His lips were slightly parted, eyes intensely locked onto Louis'.

Louis' breath hitched in his throat. Zayn had to literally turn slightly away so as not to burst out laughing, trying to stay casual, while Liam saw nothing dirty within the phrase and appreciated Harry's detailed response.

"Yeah, both can be good. Depends what mood you're in." Liam agreed.

"Exactly." Harry smirked, and finally his gaze left Louis, who finally felt like he could breathe properly again.

Holy SHIT, what was that? Louis' stomach was filled with arousal now, heart drumming heavily and adrenaline pumping through his veins. Images of he and Harry filled his mind and wouldn't leave. Such filthy things.

Zayn's foot nudged Louis' when Harry was paying attention to Niall, and Louis nudged back as a way of saying he _knew_. 

Harry wanted to fuck Louis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well shiiiiiit guys


	12. The Comment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has currently just gone half past 1 in the morning here in England but I thought I would update for you! Sorry if it is short? Or if the changing moods are confusing x

**Harry Styles:** _Lily?...I have an important question .xx_

Louis sort of panicked when he read this. His instinctive thought was on whether Harry had somehow cracked that the account was fake and was about to question it. But then again, that was always his thought whenever Harry messaged him anything. He was too paranoid, which he deserved really for being so deceptive. 

**Lily Henderson:** _Fire away Xx_

Louis didn't actually want Harry to 'fire away'. He wanted to sink into the ground and never return if Harry really had discovered that Lily was not who he had first thought she was. He should have been sleeping really, but once again Harry was distracting him from the beneficial necessities of his life. 

The notification sounded into Louis' previously silent room, once again reminding him to turn it down so as not to wake up his siblings through the paper-thin walls. He didn't want to look at the message, but the longer he left it, the more stressed he got.

 **Harry Styles:** _Do you think you actually like me?? Because you mention my friends a lot and talk about my relationships with them. Do you like me from what you've found out about me? .xx_

Okay, _slightly_ relieving, but not entirely. Harry had caught onto the change in Lily's intentions: they had changed to all things Louis-orientated. Louis prayed this wasn't all becoming too painfully obvious. He was honestly quite surprised Harry hadn't caught on yet.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Of course I do Harry. You're a wonderful person Xx_

Louis really didn't want to say that, because it just strengthened Harry's relationship with Lily and meant that may become Harry's primary focus again. But if Louis would have put that no, Lily didn't like Harry that way, Harry may insist they stop talking and that would mean Louis would lose all track on what Harry was thinking.

_Harry is typing..._

**Harry Styles:** _I've been doing so much thinking tonight. About my sexuality, about Louis, about you.....I think I'm straight .xx_

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Louis whispered aloud to himself, in sheer disappointment.

What the hell was Harry playing at? He had literally made filthy comments aimed at Louis, and physically pressed himself against him, and now apparently he was straight again. Fucking _brilliant_. Louis didn't know what to say to that. Lily was meant to be happy about it, because she was a girl and liked Harry, and it would mean he's more interested in her than Louis, but realistically this wasn't Lily. It was Louis, and he had feelings. He decided to be blunt.

 **Lily Henderson:** _You think so?_

No kisses: he didn't exactly know what that was meant to prove but it felt good to miss them out. He had that sense of dread in the pit of his stomach again, which diminished that dose of temporary happiness which was residing there. Once again, his optimism was crushed by Harry's constantly changing opinion.

 **Harry Styles:** _Yeah. I mean I think you're very beautiful and I really like talking to you. You're more attractive to me than Louis is and I'd much rather wake up next to you if I'm honest .xx_

With an overly loud yell of rage, Louis hurled his laptop across the room, causing it to crash against the wall with a thunderous bang and turn off altogether.

He began unevenly breathing, trying to further contain his lividity as the inevitable angry choruses of 'Louis!' erupted from his family's neighbouring bedrooms. He was wringing his hands anxiously, curling in on himself and lying down on his unmade bed. 

Nobody came to check on him. Nobody cared. They had only been concerned that their sleep was disturbed by the commotion.

The first tear fell, rolling partway down Louis' cheek before gravity pulled it down into a splodge on his bedsheets.

"This is what you're letting Harry do to you," He shakily repeated to himself in a whisper what Zayn had told him on the night he punched that brick wall. "This is what you're letting Harry do to you." And then again. He wasn't even bothered about checking whether his laptop - which he had saved up for for years to afford - was still okay. He didn't want to go anywhere _near_ that awful message again.

* * *

When Louis did wake up, with that dark cloud hanging over his head once again, he found that his laptop, which was slightly bent and resting awkwardly on its side, had a crack in its upper lid. It still turned on and functioned okay other than that, meaning when Louis put it on to charge and switched it on, the first thing that appeared on the screen was his chat with Harry.

He was majorly insecure as he approached his friends, including Harry, who looked bright and ebullient, completely oblivious to the fact that he had broken Louis on the inside the night before. Louis, on such a hot day, had thrown on a baggy hoodie and some tracksuit bottoms. He didn't want to try.

"Looouis!" Liam greeted, shooting a welcoming smile at him. "How's our little sunshine today?"

"I'm doing okay." Louis spoke absolute lies, and he knew how drained his voice sounded but he was unable to change that. He could feel Harry inspecting him and it made him want to disappear. Harry having told him he'd 'much rather' wake up next to Lily had sparked a fire in Louis' insecurities and his thoughts were running wild.

"You're not." Niall immediately commented, being the first to state the most obvious thing that anybody with two working eyes could see. "Come on, tell us what's up."

Louis hated this even more than being ignored completely. He spotted sorrow in Zayn's eyes when they met his, as if he was the only understanding one who knew what it was like to be grilled on something when you felt at your lowest. It didn't help anything. In fact, it made things worse.

"I don't think he wants to talk about it..." Zayn tried, sending his mate a reassuring smile. Louis knew that he had caught on to what the topic could be, considering he was the only one who knew what Louis was doing with his spare time.

"Trouble at home." Louis hastily commented, avoiding all eye contact. When he did look up, his dumb luck meant Harry's eyes were the first ones his were met by, and Harry gave him the saddest, more sympathetic of smiles. This was so stupid.

* * *

Louis caught Harry staring from across the room during their chemistry class. It was a sort of compassionate stare, a nonverbal way of telling Louis he was willing to talk to him. But little did he know, he was the reason Louis was like this. Perhaps Harry was feeling guilty about what he had said about Louis, because when he was done staring, his gaze turned downwards and he concentrated on his folded hands on the tabletop, fully in a daze.

As class drew to an end, and Louis realised that he hadn't learnt a thing, he watched in the corner of his eye as Harry stood up from his chair and started strolling right over. Alarm bells rang in Louis' head; he wanted to run out of there so he didn't need to see Harry's beautiful face and be reminded of how obsessed he was, but it was obviously too late.

"Louis," Harry softly called out, as he reached him. "I don't like seeing you upset."

Louis' instinct told him to apologise, foolishly, but luckily he held this back and instead responded with an unavailing shrug. Harry sadly smiled again, lacking the brightness in his eyes, and stupidly Louis felt a pang of hurt at seeing Harry like that. Despite him being almost _mean_ last night, anonymously.

"Louis, if there's anything I can do to make you feel better..." Harry's gazed so deeply into Louis' eyes, almost suggestively, that it made Louis densely shiver and he had to try to maintain casual eye contact without giving everything away.

_'Tell me that you love me.'_

"No, I don't think there is. But thanks for the offer, Harry."

_'Make love to me.'_

"It's okay, Louis. Friends need to be there for each other. Tend to all their needs."

_'Make me feel like I'm worth something. Tell me that I'm worth something.'_

"Of course."

This wasn't fair. Harry was playing with Louis' heart. He put him down and then dropped more of those suggestive, spine-tingling comments. Louis wanted to scream in his face: "I know what you really think about me! You would hate waking up next to someone like me!" He wanted this all to be gone. He wanted Harry to be gone. He wanted to be Lily.

* * *

 **Harry Styles:** _What do you do if one of your best mates is acting really upset? :( .xx_

Stupid, unaware boy, if only he knew he was the root cause of Louis' unhappiness. Louis wanted with all his heart to delete the Lily Henderson account and be done with all of this behind-the-scenes bullshit, but he knew that he would never delete it. He had become obsessed with talking to Harry on it, as though he was really Lily Henderson and Harry liked him and wanted to be with him.

He didn't like being played around with, which was exactly what Harry was doing to him. 

**Lily Henderson:** _Depends why they're upset. Who is it that's sad? Xx_

It was ridiculous how he had to act oblivious to all of it, but it was the only way to find out what Harry was really thinking. That was a positive of having the account - Harry just had no fucking idea.

 **Harry Styles:** _He says home troubles. It's Louis .xx_

He wished Harry knew the reason, but then again he couldn't know that Louis owned the account.

 **Lily Henderson:** _That's obviously something private going on in his life. You'll just have to try cheer him up Xx_

Louis sighed to himself as he hit send.

 **Harry Styles:** _Should i offer to fuck him real good or something? Haha, gay guys looooove straight guys ;) .xx_

No. Fuck this. Louis had drawn the line here. Whatever game Harry was playing wasn't two-player because Louis had withstood it for long enough.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Maybe try to actually be more sensitive sometimes? He might have a lot going on Harry, I don't think he needs those snide sexual comments on top of it all if you're not actually interested in him Xx_

Was that risky or plausible? Louis figured that it was an appropriate response to a dickish comment such as the one Harry had just made.

 **Harry Styles:** _Alright, chill out, it was a joke. Anyway, you don't even know him, I reckon he would enjoy taking this dick in that beautiful arse .xx_

Louis calmly shut his laptop lid, deciding he should start looking after it, and he deeply inhaled. He was conflicted between feeling irritated and turned on by Harry's message. Harry was being such a prick, insensitively saying he would fuck Louis purely because he had a nice body, but Harry was always going to turn Louis on, even when he was in his bad books. It was just such a natural thing. 

He decided he wouldn't reply. Instead, he fell into a state of arousal and palmed himself through his jeans to the thought of Harry fucking him. 


	13. The Experiment

"It's because of Harry, isn't it?" Zayn surmised, trying to make eye contact with Louis, but failing as the latter refused to look up for more than a split second. They were sat in Zayn's bedroom, after a long day of Louis getting quizzed by his classmates on why he was being so quiet. 

Louis childishly shrugged in response to Zayn's question, ultimtely avoiding it altogether. He didn't want to talk about this again. Zayn already _knew_ what had triggered the low mood.

"Don't shrug, you obviously know whether it is or not." Zayn said. "You know I won't judge you at this point, I just want to know what the fuck happened to make you like this."

"I'm obsessed with him, Zayn." Louis piped, no more than a mutter, but his mate heard him with eager ears.

"What's happened, though?"

"He just put me down, I guess. And it hit me harder than it should have." Louis admitted, realising that what Harry was doing to him was far from good if it caused him to launch his laptop across the room and cry himself to sleep. This was his second minor breakdown since he had started talking to Harry from the anonymous account, and God knows whether Harry possessed the capability of triggering a major one.

"The fuck did he say?" Zayn protectively growled, ready to defend his best friend against anything.

"It probably won't seem bad to you. He just told Lily that he would rather wake up next to her than me." Louis summarised. It did sound pretty watered down and ridiculous when he phrased what had made him so upset, but in his head it was a hundred times worse than it sounded.

"I can tell how much it's affected you. This must be so hard on you, Lou. It's not good for you to be doing this, yet it's... become quite addictive, hasn't it?" Zayn just knew all the right things to say to Louis, all the time. He was almost like a therapist.

"Yes." Louis simply replied, having no more to say. It felt good to have told somebody else why he was feeling blue.

"He's to blame for a lot of how he's treating you. He may not be aware that you know what he says on Facebook, but he shouldn't keep changing his mind all the time. He keeps messing you around."

Louis sighed, "He said he was straight again yesterday. Changed his mind once again."

Zayn rolled his eyes and left the room in silence for a moment as he was deep in thought. Louis could tell he was constructing some sort of major plan because he always squinted in a particular way when he was.

"We've got to make him jealous." He concluded, after some time. "You and me. We have to get real close and see if he gets jealous - see if he really likes you."

Louis was staring at Zayn with furrowed eyebrows and an unconvinced, little smile. "I don't know, Zayn, what will it prove if he does get jealous?"

"That he's lying about being straight. And that he's been thinking about you more than he likes and wants it to stop." Zayn suggested, smirking at Louis. "Maybe he does like you, eh?"

"What if people see me and you flirting and think we're together?" Louis smirked, nudging his friend suggestively. "Will that hurt your reputation, being linked to the bisexual boy?"

"Anything for you, babycakes." Zayn jokingly winked. 

God, Zayn was a very attractive guy; a Godsend. He was just never someone Louis found himself _physically_ and _sexually_ attracted to - probably due to the fact that they had been best mates since they could walk. Anybody would be very, very lucky to land themselves in a relationship with him.

* * *

"Okay," Zayn whispered, due to the fact that Harry sat just the other side of the room in their English class. "Louis, at lunch we will sit opposite Harry. I'm going to pretend to show you a video on my phone. You're going to laugh and bury your face into my neck. Just flirt the hell out of it."

"You've really planned this one out!" Louis chuckled, loving his mate's enthusiasm. "But anyway, got it."

The plan was ready. Louis was looking forward to seeing whether Harry really would get jealous. If he did, that was solid proof that he had feelings for Louis that were slightly above the 'friends' level. If he didn't, Louis would see little point in pursuing the use of the Lily account. It was all going to be revealed very shortly.

 

Louis and Zayn managed to position themselves in an advantage point when they all lounged on the field at lunch. Harry sat leant against the large oak tree, knees bent with a can of coke in one of his large hands. Louis was sitting on one hip, legs bent to one side beneath him and leaning primarily towards Zayn, who sat by his side.

"Hey, Lou, look at this video," Zayn spoke the first scripted line of their experiment, holding his phone screen up to Louis' eyeline. There was obviously no video to be shown, but Zayn had typed out on his phone's notes 'watch his reaction yeah?' for Louis to read without Harry's acknowledgement.

Louis lightly laughed, clutching onto Zayn's bicep and doing as he was told, burying his face into Zayn's neck as he did. He was giggling away, glancing down at the absolutely video-less screen and acting as though the funniest thing he had ever seen was being shown to him.

Harry was watching with a cold stare. His eyes were solely fixed on where Louis' face met Zayn's neck, looking wholly unimpressed with a penetrating gaze that was non-verbally screaming for Zayn to get the hell off of Louis.

"What's the video?" Harry spoke up suddenly, voice lacking its usually brightness, which had been replaced by an irritated undertone.

"Nothing, man, it's kind of an inside joke." Zayn dismissed, waving a hand at the visually jealous boy.

"Right." Harry sternly added, jaw locked into place and eyebrows ever-so-slightly furrowed. Louis watched as Zayn began vigorously typing on his screen.

"My mum won't leave me alone." He lied, so Harry wouldn't be suspicious over the sudden typing in Louis' view.

_Take your water bottle and go fill it up at the fountain and I will slap ur arse as u stand up!!_

Louis restrained the urge to laugh, using his best acting skills to look away from the screen as though Zayn really was texting his mother. 

"She's really protective over you." He went along with the lie, before pulling his half-empty water bottle from his bag. "Just gonna go fill this up."

Louis rose to his feet, stretching his legs out briefly before going to pass Zayn to head towards the fountain. Zayn's hand roughly slapped his bum as he passed him, slightly harder than Louis had genuinely anticipated, so he let out a squeak of surprise.

Harry's expression was priceless. His tongue grazed his back teeth, mouth slightly parted and eyebrows even lower than a few moments ago. He was pissed, and Louis knew he was trying and failing so hard to mask this. His eyes possessively scanned over Zayn, face the epitome of jealous, before pulling out his phone to distract himself. Louis hurried away towards the fountain, which was slightly out of sight from where his friends sat.

He placed his bottle beneath the nozzle of the fountain, holding down the button with one hand while unlocking his phone with the other. There was a message from Harry that had just come through, to the Lily account. Louis had a feeling Harry would have mentioned something to her.

 **Harry Styles:** _OK I'm pissed off. Louis and Zayn are acting all fucking flirtatious suddenly and idk why i feel so fucking jealous because I don't think I even like Louis .xx_

Louis smirked to himself, quickly typing out a response. He loved the timing of all of this: he had enough time to respond before heading back over, ready to act oblivious again.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Maybe u do have feelings for him then if you're jealous Xx_

Smug as ever, Louis popped his phone into his pocket and released the water button. He took a long swig of the newly-drawn water before screwing the lid on and heading back towards his friends. Harry's eyes slowly raked down his body as he approached, seeming to enjoy remaining around Louis' thick thighs, and Louis had never felt so alive.

"Back, boys." Louis sighed, sitting down once again. Zayn was still going along with the flirtatious game, flinging an arm around Louis and pulling him in against his side. Niall had his earphones in and was watching a YouTube video while Liam, as always, was lazing in the sunshine.

"I missed you, Lou Lou."

"Are you two dating or something?" Harry suddenly quizzed, voice monotone and empty.

"Course not!" Louis put on a smile.

Harry said nothing more, giving an emotionless laugh before returning to his phone. Louis too got his out, at this point not thinking it too obvious to respond to Harry's incoming messages as Lily.

 **Harry Styles:** _Help me, I think I might like him .xx_

It felt like Louis' jaw could break due to how hard he had to restrain a smile. It was finally revealed.

 **Lily Henderson:** _I think you do too. Xx_

Louis discreetly watched Harry's eyes skim over the message, before his thumbs sparked into action to type out a reply. Louis pretended to type on his own phone while awaiting a response, so as not to be too obvious about only typing when Harry had sent a message. This was a tricky process. Zayn knew exactly what Louis was doing and he had Louis' back, not looking between the two boys or smiling too widely at Louis' screen.

 **Harry Styles:** _Honestly was convinced I was straight. Now I just want to push Louis face down onto my bed and fuck him, God I'm a mess .xx_

Louis felt his stomach dip in arousal. He was so desperate to glance up at Harry and give him the sexiest, most alluring look he could manage, but he knew now wasn't the right time. He needed to fuck Harry. It wasn't a matter of wanting to anymore, this was urgent. He wished he could just crawl right over the grass towards Harry right now and unbuckle his belt but he still had to possess some dignity within the situation.

 **Lily Henderson:** _You should make that happen then Xx_

Louis glanced up at Harry through this eyelashes when he was convinced the gorgeous boy wasn't looking. He was just so fucking hot, it was indescribable.

 **Harry Styles:** _I don't think he likes me like that .xx_

Louis wanted to laugh aloud, but obviously that wouldn't be appropriate considering the situation. Harry must have been blind not to see how in awe Louis was over him.

* * *

Louis was wondering when he and Harry would actually take that step and get intimate. Louis didn't care if it was a casual thing either, he would just do anything to run his hands down Harry's bare chest and feel their hot skin pressed together.

He contemplated whether Harry even would stick to his word and fuck Louis into his bed. He might have even just been saying it without meaning it, which would flame Louis' anger once again for how easily Harry's attitude towards him changed. 

Zayn had been happy with the outcome of their experiment, refusing to talk about anything else as he and Louis wandered around the city centre.

"And the way he asked whether we are dating! Priceless. He was so fucking jealous, Louis, it's unbelievable."

"Yeah, pretty unbelievable." Louis added. He felt Zayn's eyes on him.

"What's wrong? Why are you not excited about this? You've been crushing on Harry since his first day and he likes you!" Zayn attempted to hype Louis up, nudging him as they walked.

"I don't know, it just feels like something's not right, something is missing." Louis mused, feeling as though a piece of the puzzle was missing. 

"That'd be the sex, mate. Wait until he's fucked y-"

"No, not that," Louis dismissed. "I don't know what it is."

It was true: something didn't add up. The way Harry so suddenly became jealous once again. It was like it was an act. It obviously wasn't as Harry had mentioned his feelings to Lily, but Louis couldn't help the uneasy feeling.

"I hate this, Zayn. Something isn't right."

"I hope you figure out what, mate." Zayn shrugged. "Just know that he probably wants to bang you."

It wasn't enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why does Louis feel so uneasy?


	14. The Discovery

Niall hazily yawned, body lounged across Harry's whole double bed and inadvertently taking up its entire surface area. This meant the four other boys were stuck sat on the floor (well lying, on Zayn's part). Liam was quietly singing a song by Coldplay into the silence, many of the lyrics incorrectly, while Louis counted the number of spots on a polka dot, monochrome shirt which hung on the hooks on Harry's door to pass the boredom. The room was more decorated now than when the boys had last been in it, with almost all of the boxes unpacked. Harry's wardrobe was constructed now, with one door open to reveal the colourful array of clothes on the hangers inside.

"You know what?" Harry lightly chuckled to himself into the quiet. "I haven't gotten drunk in _too_ long."

Louis liked the idea of Harry being drunk. He imagined Harry would be clumsy and forward, and that would benefit him greatly, especially if Harry were to actually make a move when a bit tipsy. At the moment, the tension between them could be cut with a knife, yet nothing had been done. And meanwhile Harry was using Lily Henderson as a diary, which he had no idea Louis was behind. Confusing.

"Maybe because we're seventeen and are considered underage in terms of drinking." Liam maturely commented, with a humorous undertone which was basically telling himself to shut the fuck up.

"Who cares how old we are? I want to get smashed." Harry grinned.

Louis wanted to get smashed by Harry, but that was another story.

"Plan a party. Just for the five of us. We will get spontaneously pissed." Zayn suggested, smiling coolly to himself. 

The others agreed, so Louis just went along with it. The only alcohol he enjoyed was beer, but that wasn't the easiest thing to get drunk off of. He needed to get into the spirits and stronger stuff if he wanted to _really_ get drunk off his face. It was a risky business around Harry, though. Louis knew how when he did get drunk, he blurted out his deepest and darkest secrets (which he had discovered on his sixteenth birthday, when his friends got him smashed and he had confidently told them that he was into guys as well as girls. Not the best way of coming out, really.)

His plan, if this spontaneously planned, mini party was really going to happen, was pretending to get less and less sober while his friends were really the only ones getting drunk. That way he could act however he wanted, while still possessing full power over his actions, and he would remember anything that had happened between he and Harry, if something were to happen.

The others were excitedly discussing and planning out the sudden event, while Louis was fighting the growing urge to go for a wee. He had needed to go for a good hour now but had felt too awkward asking and going. It was stupid, really, considering he and Harry were apparently friends, but he didn't want to do it. His need must have shone through, though, as the minutes went by, because a moment later he had Niall laughing at him and causing everyone's gazes to move over to him.

"Louis, you so obviously need to piss." He pointed out, causing Louis to want to strangle him. "You're squirming around like a little kid over there."

"Alright, Niall, thanks." He rolled his eyes.

"Go, Lou. Third door on the left when you leave my room." Harry chuckled at Louis' reluctance to just ask. The way Harry looked at him made him shiver once again. Wow, he really did have a powerful stare.

Louis groaned in annoyance as he got up, having been comfortable where he was sat on the carpet, before leaving the room quickly. Luckily Harry's mum and sister weren't home, because Louis didn't want to awkwardly run into them on his way. The house was so grand; the hallway seemed more than long enough, with its light carpeting and cream-coloured walls. The whole house smelt of vanilla and cinnamon. It was wonderful.

Louis found the bathroom after following Harry's instructions, which was big enough to cause an echo as he shut the door behind him and locked it. It was such a beautiful room, despite being a bathroom, with dark grey tiling on the floors and a lighter grey paint on the walls. He tried not to get too distracted by the fact that Harry stood in that shower naked once a day, quickly unzipping his jeans and doing what he needed to do. The relief was overwhelming.

Why was he even friends with someone like Harry? He was just perfect. So perfect that Louis even thought about him as he did a wee. Slightly weird, but true.

He finished up, zipping back up and flushing the toilet. He reached the square sink, admiring himself in the mirror as he turned on the cold tap and rinsed his hands. He looked okay. Nothing more, really. As he pressed his hand onto the soap dispenser, a pathetic, tiny amount was released, clearly having just run out - another example of Louis' stupid luck. He was too hygienic not to use a lot of soap.

He began a hunt for a new soap bottle in the bathroom, figuring it would most likely be in the mirrored cabinet on the wall, at the left of the sink. He switched the tap off, deciding to save this already rich family a bit of cash, before opening the cabinet's doors. His eyes scanned over the packed shelves, at a basket of makeup, razors, more toilet paper... bottles of pills.

He felt so nosy and intrusive as he turned one of the bottles to inspect it.

_Mr. Harry E Styles_  
**_Fluoxetine (Prozac)_**

Okay... from Louis' limited knowledge of medicine, he knew that prozac was used as an antidepressant. And... it was Harry's? Did Harry secretly have depression?

Louis decided to stop being nosy and he continued looking for what he was supposed to be getting. He quickly used the soap, before thoroughly washing his hands and shutting the cabinet up again. His heart was racing a bit now at the thought of Harry being unhappy in any way, shape or form. It sort of crushed him.

He headed back to Harry's room, expecting all eyes to be on him as he entered but instead being ultimately ignored by the others, as Zayn and Liam were wrestling each other on the floor over whatever Louis had missed. Louis returned to his spot on the floor, and he couldn't help but observe Harry, who watched his two mates play-fighting. He looked so blissful. His eyes sparkled, dimples prominent and perfect, white teeth on display. He looked as though he had no troubles whatsoever, like everything was just wonderful, but maybe he was really hurting inside, behind that heart-warming smile. That thought really hurt Louis.

The antidepressants had to be used by Harry now, because they were in a new house and therefore they couldn't be something he used in the past and was cured by. Louis felt like his head was spinning at the thought of Harry having depression. It was proof that even someone like Harry, who appearee to have it all, had stuff going on behind closed doors. Louis wanted to know what, and he knew Lily was the only one who could find out.

* * *

Louis couldn't exactly have Lily message Harry with "Are you depressed? :(" He had to approach this subtly, so as not to make it obvious that she magically knew without knowing Harry personally. He hated the mess he was getting himself into, but it was worth it if he could get Harry to open up.

 **Lily Henderson:** _How are you feeling today Harry? Xx_

Sounded simple enough, didn't it? It didn't exactly scream: "I'm actually Louis, I snooped through your bathroom cabinet and found your happy medicine. You okay?"

_Harry is typing..._

**Harry Styles:** _I'm doing good :) Are you? .xx_

He wasn't though, was he? He was masking it. It was sad.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Are you sure? Xx_

Risky? Oh well, it was sent.

_Harry is typing..._

**Harry Styles:** _Yes. Thank you Lily .xx_

It seemed like such a lie, now that Louis had seen the pills, prescribed to Harry specifically.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Just checking. People don't always open up Xx_

Louis didn't want Harry to be hurt. He deserved the whole world. He would do anything to make him happy.

* * *

Harry's hand skimmed over Louis' bum as their group walked to their maths lesson. It was brief, almost unnoticeable, but Louis sure as hell felt it, and it was definitely intentional on Harry's part. When it had happened, Louis had glanced over at Harry, _craving_ the sexual tension between them, and Harry stared back with a lustful sort of glance that had Louis densely shivering. God damn, Harry Styles knew how to do things to Louis' fucking insides.

Louis was desperate to get fucked by Harry. His tall build and muscular biceps made him very capable of fucking Louis _really_ good. He seemed like he'd be quite passionate too, which was a massive turn on for Louis. The thought of making out with Harry made his stomach tingle. Those plump, soft looking lips; he was probably an incredible kisser.

Louis was thinking all of this through as he stared at Harry across the classroom in maths. He was taking in nothing their teacher said, instead using this time to admire how wonderful Harry was, and how fucking hot. He had such large hands. Such long, slender fingers. _Fuck,_ Louis couldn't concentrate one bit with such a fucking god present in the room. There should have been a special school for hot people like Harry, so they wouldn't distract others from their educations.

Louis could see two girls in his class nudging each other and whispering while looking towards Harry. He got so much attention all the time, but it wasn't surprising. Louis couldn't help but feel like he had the upper hand over those girls, as it was almost clear as day that Harry wanted to fuck him. It was honestly revolutionary.

"Louis? What's the answer?" The teacher suddenly quizzed, and Harry had caught Louis staring before he had time to look away. Oh shit, now Louis had the embarrassment of being caught staring _and_ not knowing the fucking answer in front of his class. The numbers and symbols scrawled on the whiteboard were a load of nonsense to him, leaving no hints.

"No idea." He sighed.

He earned a scolding look from the teacher. "Please pay more attention, Louis. You seem very distracted today."

Louis rolled his eyes, before turning to face Harry's direction again. The gorgeous boy still had his eyes on Louis, and the biggest smirk plastered on his face. He knew well that he was the reason Louis wasn't paying attention. So fucking smug, but also so fucking great. Louis decided he would smirk right back at Harry, which sort of surprised the latter, as Louis had never really responded to anything non-verbal before.

Harry proceeded to wink. Oh, fuck no. Louis couldn't handle that. Oh god, man down. Louis was dying. It was too much.

He had to wink back. He _needed_ to. He did. Harry's smirk seemed to widen, still content on staring into Louis' soul from across the room.

At the slowest pace ever, making the world stop momentarily for Louis, Harry bit his bottom lip at Louis in the most seductive and provocative way anyone could imagine. Louis felt like fireworks erupted in his stomach, and for a second he was so stuck on how to reasond. He was pretty sure his eyes had widened slightly as Harry had done it, that's just what it did to him.

He decided he would quickly lick his own lips, quickly but suggestively, and then watched as Harry slowly nodded to himself, and suddenly his face was very serious and he looked as though he was contemplating something. Maybe he was contemplating whether or not he really wanted to fuck Louis, but it seemed more than obvious that he did. He suddenly got out his phone, nudging his head to his phone as though to tell Louis to check his phone. Louis furrowed his eyebrows, heart thumping slightly, as he pulled out his own phone and saw his first ever text from Harry.

It broke his heart and confused him beyond belief, and he honestly wanted to flip the table in front of him and scream at the top of his lungs in frustrstion:

 **Harry:** _You really want me don't you? Sorry Louis, I'm straight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry is probably really confusing a few of you, but it is because he is confused with himself!
> 
> Also, yeah, maybe Harry isn't so happy. :(


	15. The Change

All it had been since Harry joined Hall Cross was a roller coaster ride. Actually, a train wreck. Harry's opinions on Louis changed faster than anything Louis had ever experienced. One second he was staring seductively at Louis; brushing his hand over his bum; dreaming of them having sex. Then the next, he was texting Louis about being straight. It wasn't fair. Louis didn't like being played with like that.

He honestly wanted to disappear, as their maths lesson rolled to an end, and he knew he would have to be in the same group as Harry during lunch. He couldn't do it. He simply couldn't. It was bad enough having to conceal his crush on Harry before, but now Harry blatantly _knew_ that Louis wanted him, and he had rejected him. Louis' heart was broken.

The moment their teacher dismissed them, Louis hurriedly packed away his things into his backpack before rushing out the room alone, hoping his friends wouldn't catch on quick enough to chase after him and ask why he was leaving on his own. He would rather spend lunch alone, somewhere isolated, than have to avoid looking into those green eyes and feeling nothing but embarrassment. In his mind, there was nothing worse than rejection.

He sped down the hall, wincing as he heard Niall's loud, Irish voice yelling after him in confusion. "Louis? Where are you going?"

There was a small laugh to finish, because he had no idea Louis was actually serious about this, as though he could have been doing it as a joke, and then Zayn's voice cut in.

"Louis, are you okay? Please come back." Getting quieter as Louis speed-walked further and further away, finally turning a corner so he was out of sight. He still kept walking, wanting to get as far away from Harry Styles as humanly possible.

He was probably making things worse by being a coward and running away, but he didn't give a shit. He kept on moving until he reached the benches by the water fountain, taking a seat on one to finally catch back the breath that he didn't know he was holding. There was no sign of his friends, just other students making their way to lunch.

There were inevitably texts waiting on Louis' phone when he pulled it out. One from Zayn and one from... Harry.

 **Zayn:** _What is wrong!?? Please talk to me!!! Call me!!_

 **Harry:** _I'm sorry, was it something I said? .xx_

Fucking kisses. No way. It may have been a sweet gesture as Louis was upset, but it only irritated him more. He completely ignored Zayn's message and concentrated on typing a reply to Harry's. It was one of those moments where he spontaneously typed every thought he had but wasn't expecting to hit send until it was too late to go back.

 **Louis:** _Of course it was something you fucking said, who do you think you are? You keep fucking me around, do you understand that?!! What are you really trying to do other than hurt me? :(_

Shit. He really regretted this now. Oh, God, it was sent. Oh no, Harry was probably reading it. Shit, shit, shit.

At that moment, his phone's notification sound was the worst thing he ever wanted to hear. When it sounded, he wanted to smash his phone into the ground and never look at it again. But he had to.

 **Harry:** _I'm so sorry for messing you around, I know I've been really suggestive and if only you knew the things I've told others about you. It's just.. I fucking hate myself Louis. I'm sorry_

Louis felt hurt again at being reminded of how unhappy Harry was. He didn't want to push it, and ask Harry why he hated himself so much, but he had to reply in some way, shape or form.

 **Louis:** _Can you please forget this every happened and so will I_

It was his safest bet. Of course it was sad and Louis didn't want Harry to just forget all the feelings they had shared through stares and smiles, but right now he was ruining Harry's self-esteem even more. He really wished Harry hadn't joined their group of friends, maybe then he and Harry could have just noticed each other in class and maybe something would have built up from there.

Louis decided to reply to Zayn, to extinguish his worry.

 **Louis:** _I'm okay. Just wanted some time alone mate, thanks for caring :)_

Louis smiled slightly at his phone as he thought about how great a friend Zayn was. He always had been Louis' favourite of his friends, always there for him and willing to discuss anything. He was an angel on earth.

A hand clasped over Louis' shoulder, causing him to audibly gasp and almost drop his phone altogether. He turned and was shocked to see Harry stood there, completely alone, hand still planted on Louis' shoulder.

"Louis, give me a hug. Come on."

Louis was having a mini heart attack on the inside, certainly not expecting this. His cheeks had flushed red and he started lightly shaking as he got to his feet and entered Harry's open arms. He smelt so good and he was so tall and warm. This was the closest they had ever been, and Louis' body had erupted in goosebumps as Harry's large hand stroked soothingly up and down his back, holding him tightly in their embrace. Harry moved his chin down to rest on Louis' shoulder, hot breath fanning onto the shorter boy's neck, and Louis had never felt so many emotions of pure happiness running through him.

"I'm so sorry, Louis. I need to work myself out." He whispered, just centimetres from Louis' ear, so Louis shivered and was sure Harry felt it, too. Oh God, Louis never wanted this to end, but a moment later, it did. They smiled at each other, pretty damn awkwardly, before turning around to see Niall, Zayn and Liam stood watching. Zayn had that stupid smirk on his face when he and Louis locked eyes.

"Oh," Harry nervously laughed. "This is probably confusing. Just don't ask."

Liam raised his hands in defence, as though to say they wouldn't. Zayn wouldn't stop smirking, and Louis could smell Harry's aftershave on himself now. It was intoxicating. He felt dizzy.

As they all walked away together, it hit Louis like a train what Harry had whispered: _I need to work myself out._

That couldn't mean anything but his sexuality, could it? And the way he buried his face into Louis' neck as he said it. Louis would keep shivering whenever he thought about it, for as long as he lived, because Harry had effectively just admitted to Louis that he was bicurious.

* * *

**Harry Styles:** _I realised today how bad I've been to Louis .xx_

Louis was the one who felt bad, considering he was still using this damn account to contact Harry. It would probably be appropriate to message Harry off his personal account now, but he didn't want to be the one to send the first message.

 **Lily Henderson:** _He is probably confused Xx_

He fucking was.

 **Harry Styles:** _Yeah..he smells really good. Hugged him today .xx_

Louis smiled to himself at the pick-me-up he had received. He needed something like that. It was nice to know Harry had smelt him too... as weird as that sounded.

 **Lily Henderson:** _What's happening with Sophie? Xx_

This was something Louis had been wondering all week.

_Harry is typing..._

**Harry Styles:** _She went back to Cheshire. Idk if she got the hint I'm not that interested anymore .xx_

So he hadn't explicitly told her. He just waited for her to assume.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Do u think you're not so interested now because of Louis??_

 **Harry Styles:** _Not just because of him.....maybe partly? .xx_

 

Hell yes. That was good enough for Louis. He was causing Harry's thoughts to wander away from his ex-girlfriend. He loved having that power.

 **Lily Henderson:** _You should get on it with Louis before he finds someone else. He could Xx_

He wanted Harry to have a sense of urgency. He didn't want this to just be another conversation stating that Harry probably liked Louis, with nothing being done about it. It could go on forever otherwise.

 **Harry Styles:** _Not sure yet. Still working things out for myself .xx_

That was fair enough. He couldn't force anything to happen, he would just have to be patient until Harry had worked himself out and chosen what he believed he wanted. He just couldn't get over the fact that Harry chose to hug him. And the way he whispered what he needed to say, instead of waiting until the hug was over to say it casually. That had to mean something, right?

* * *

"So... you think he likes you?" Zayn added it all up, as Louis had explained it at lightning speed and lacking a lot of detail.

"I think so," Louis concluded. "But I think he is just confused."

Zayn lightly laughed. "Yeah, I'm not surprised if he suddenly thinks he might like guys too. Must be quite a sudden realisation for him."

"Which I caused..." Louis thought aloud. "What do I do about the Lily account? It's a good way of keeping track of what he is thinking but I just feel so guilty when I use it."

"Do whatever you think is right, Louis. You never take my advice anyway." He smirked, obviously referencing to the fact that Louis had continued using the account in the first place, even after Zayn's tip not to. He should have listened back then really.

"For now, I will keep it. Just so I can keep tabs of how he is doing, you know?" Louis excused.

"Yeah, whatever, Lou." Zayn lightly chuckled. "If you want to keep using it, do. But not for too long. Don't let it go even further than it already has."

It was kind of too late for that now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was quite short, sorry.
> 
> Would like to see suggestions maybe that I could possibly add in? :) Have already taken a couple into account and are planning them xxx
> 
> Longer chapters to come, I promise


	16. The Call

**Harry Styles:** _Lily, do you have a phone number I could have? I'd love to hear your voice.xx_

Louis panicked inside when he read this. He knew this online identity-changing business wouldn't last; it was too good to be true. What was he supposed to say now? He would surely be found out if he mysteriously said Lily didn't have a phone number he could have. His stupid brain told him to put on a girly voice, but Harry wasn't born yesterday. Plus, Harry already had his phone's number saved.

He typed the first thing that came to mind.

 **Lily Henderson:** _I find talking on the phone awkward haha Xx_

Oh no, it was going to seem so obvious now. He was so stuck on what to do, he couldn't let Harry know. He just couldn't.

 **Harry Styles:** _It won't be. A minute is all I'm asking, you will make me so happy, please? .xx_

If it was going to make Harry happy, Louis wanted to do it. Only problem being that he wasn't a fucking female, and clearly had the voice of Louis Tomlinson. He did get an idea, but it wasn't a very good one. It meant he'd have explaining to do, but to someone else: his sister. If he could convince her, maybe he could use her to talk to him.

"Lottie!" He yelled, hearing the loud music in her bedroom pause before she replied.

"What?!"

"Come here, please!"

He couldn't exactly back out of this now. He heard Lottie's bedroom door open and shut, and then she was barging into his room, her long, platinum blonde hair tied up and dressed in her pyjamas. "What is it?"

Louis pinched the bridge of his nose and lightly laughed to himself. "I need a favour."

"I'm always doing you favours, you said you'd take me shopping if I did your English homework last time, you never did." She whined, putting on a pout and leaning on her brother's desk. Shit, Louis forgot about that.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. But if you help me today, I will take you clothes shopping _all_ day Saturday and will buy you some shit. How's that?" He offered, really regretting having said it, because Lottie always acted as though her wardrobe was empty when she went shopping so she could go absolutely crazy in the sales.

"Depends what it is you need. If it's a whole project or something this time, I want more than some clothes."

"Oh, no, it's nothing to do with schoolwork. Look, it's going to sound really strange, but it's to do with this guy I like who's in my class, his name's Harry."

"Okay..."

"I created a fake account of a girl on Facebook to talk to him," Louis quickly explained, trying to just go ahead and say it. "And I just wanted to get to know him through it and stuff, but now it's gone too far and he wants to talk to me on the _phone_ but I'm not a girl, and-"

"And you want me to do the talking?" Lottie cut him off, cocking an eyebrow. "Gosh, Lou, you're in a real mess. Is he someone in your class you've never spoken to?"

This was the part where Louis was going to sound like a horrible person.

"No, he's one of my close mates now."

Lottie loudly sighed, but found slight humour in what her brother was telling her. "What am I meant to say? Does that mean he will have _my_ number?"

Louis hadn't exactly thought this through. He couldn't exactly give Harry his sister's number, it wasn't fair on Lottie, and he could call at any time and she could slip up and say she didn't know a Harry. 

"Well... I guess so."

"I'll do it." Lottie suddenly agreed, which honestly surprised Louis beyond belief. He was expecting to have to beg her. "But it's only because I can tell how much he means to you, you're really stressed about this. What do I have to say to him?"

"Thank you so much!" Louis exclaimed, feeling relief wash over him. "Could you try and hide the accent a bit? Just do general British. I will whisper what you have to say."

"No worries. Give him my number then," She instructed, before pulling her phone from her pocket.

Louis scrambled to grab his device, copy and pasting the eleven digits of Lottie's number into the chat before hitting send with a couple of kisses. Harry read it almost immediately.

 **Harry Styles:** _You actually sent it! Thank you, I will call you hold on .xx_

"Oh my God, he's going to call right now! Your name is Lily, okay? You live in London-" Louis was cut off by the sound of Lottie's phone ringing out. His heart started thumping, and Lottie's eyes were wide, but she quickly answered and put it on loud speaker so Louis could hear too.

"Hello?" She said, having listened to Louis and ditched their usual accent.

"Hi. So this is Lily, right?" Harry's voice sounded impossibly deeper on the phone. Lottie playfully shook her head at Louis in response to Harry's question, but replied with the opposite. 

"Yeah, is this Harry?"

"Yes! Wow, hello," He nervously laughed. "This is so strange, I couldn't picture how you'd sound. How are you doing?"

Lottie was awkwardly looking at Louis, unsure on how to hold a casual conversation whilst pretending to be someone completely different.

"I'm doing okay. How are you feeling?" She brightly asked. Louis was so thankful for this.

"I'm feeling really down, actually."

Oh no. Louis didn't want this to get personal, he felt awful now. Lottie was helplessly gawping at Louis, unsure on what to say, but quickly said what came to her mind.

"Really? What's up?"

Louis was shaking his head at Lottie, as though to tell her to divert the topic, but harry already went on the explain.

"Feeling really bad about myself. And my sexuality. And trying to work things out, you know, with the feelings towards Louis." Harry explained, and Louis watched Lottie's eyes widen and her mouth open, as though absolutely ecstatic for Louis. Louis, on the other hand, felt quite embarrassed, flushing red as a response.

"Sounds really hard, Harry... so do you think you have feelings for Louis then?" Lottie smugly asked, doing all of this on purpose. Louis was holding his hand out, as though to tell her to stop now.

"I can't stop imagining how it'd feel to fuck him."

Louis gasped to himself and jumped up from where he perched on the edge of his bed, snatching the phone away and hanging up quickly. Lottie was in fits of laughter, clutching her stomach and bending slightly, only just managing a sentence.

"H-He - oh my God!"

"Shut up!" Louis lightly chuckled, blushing and quickly deleting Harry's number from Lottie's phone's chat history. He handed it back, face still a rosy pink, and Lottie grinned widely at him. 

"You didn't tell me the part where he liked you." She smirked.

"I know, shut up. Thank you, you can go now."

"Shopping Saturday!" She sang, making her way to his door. "And more talk of this mysterious Harry!"

Louis rolled his eyes when she had left, hurrying to grab his phone to provide an explanation to Harry for the sudden end of the call. 

**Harry Styles:** _Why did you hang up? :(_

 **Lily Henderson:** _Sorry, my mum was pestering me! Can talk another time .xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _Oh okay, let's talk again another day. Thank you, I really enjoyed hearing your voice. I trust you now haha .xx_

Louis felt awful once again. He had pushed Harry's trust to a whole other level, when really he should have been deleting the account and forgetting it ever existed.

* * *

Louis didn't want to look Harry in the eye at school anymore. It felt awkward as it stood, with what had happened between he and Harry generally, but now he also had to handle the guilt of leading Harry on once again. It was going to get to the point where he'd get caught, he just knew it. But for now he wasn't thinking of that, he was merely enjoying what he got out of talking to Harry.

There was also what Harry had said about feeling down, and how he felt badly of himself. Louis was adding it up in his head and wondering whether Harry's depression was caused by his indecisive thoughts about whether he liked boys, because surely nothing about him was bad enough to hate. He was pretty much perfect. Everything about him.

"I didn't sleep very well last night," Harry had replied to Niall's comment about how exhausted Harry looked. Louis had just tuned in on their conversation, noticing the dark rings below Harry's eyes and generally drained face. "Just keep lying there and thinking too much." His eyes landed on Louis for more than two seconds. Oh.

"You've got to learn to filter out bad thoughts," Louis spoke up, surprising even himself. "Think of all the good ones."

"They're not exactly bad thoughts. Just confusing." Harry informed, eyes on Louis again in an intense stare. Wow, how intoxicating.

"Then try to be curious instead of being confused." Louis advised, and letting his eyes momentarily rake down Harry's body was probably the bravest thing he had ever done (after getting his sister to pretend to be Lily Henderson on the phone.)

Harry's response was a smirk, eyes taking in Louis' body quickly before nodding to himself and looking elsewhere. Shit, Harry always made Louis' stomach tingle, so damn easily.

Again, their other friends were so oblivious to the tension - aside from Zayn, who glanced occasionally to observe the stares between the two.

Louis had decided he wouldn't tell Zayn about making Lottie talk to Harry on the phone, because he already felt bad having done so. It wasn't fair on Lottie or Harry really, Louis was only doing it for his own selfish gain (once again.)

God, Louis wanted to fuck Harry. The never-ending thoughts he had about it were unstoppable, and Harry didn't help by glancing back in such a provocative way and checking Louis out. It seemed like their relationship was in a standstill, and neither of them were going to initiate anything. Louis would have to wait until they all got drunk at Harry's house, which they were planning for the upcoming Friday night. It would be the perfect opportunity to loosen up Harry's thinking and really get some use out of him (as fucking horrible as that sounded.)

He was such a mess.

* * *

**Harry Styles:** _Yea... I really fucking like Louis. Woooooow I mean I really really REALLY like him...and I think he likes me too but I'm so scared Lily...I can't get into a relationship in the state I'm in, I'm too fragile .xx_

 **Lily Henderson:** _So you'd like a relationship with him? Not just something sexual Xx_

That was music to Louis' ears. Harry was thinking about the possibility of a relationship, but if he was considering himself as 'too fragile' then it meant maybe he needed to fix the way he viewed himself before getting into any sort of romance. It was clear how upset he was with himself, that made Louis sad.

 **Harry Styles:** _I think he would be a wonderful boyfriend. Plus I trust him, he hasn't hinted in front of the other boys about how I'm thinking about my sexuality .xx_

Louis felt heartbroken. Harry trusted him. Little did he know, he really shouldn't have. This was so bad, it had gone too far. Louis was playing with Harry's head and he didn't even know it.

 **Lily Henderson:** _It's good to trust people. That's a step in the direction of a relationship maybe Xx_

Maybe, just maybe, Louis could get away with this. Perhaps he could get with Harry _and_ never get found out for having the account. He could use Lily Henderson to set him up with Harry, then delete the account and forget he ever had it. 

Yes! It could have just been crazy enough to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nooo Louis, my love, you are so going to get found out ;)


	17. The Accident

It was Louis' own stupid fault really; he should have completely steered clear of being too risky with the Lily Henderson account while he was in school. He should have known that he'd face consequences.

Niall was the one who had seen Louis using the account, and as Louis would've guessed, Niall was very passionately annoyed that he could do something so awful to Harry. Louis had been typing out a reply to Harry as he sat opposite him in the canteen. They had been on the topic of Harry's emotions once again.

 **Harry Styles:** _My mum knows I'm not happy. She's gotten me some antidepressants from the doctors. I guess I've gotten used to putting on a happy face .xx_

 **Lily Henderson:** _Nobody should hide how they really feel. Always be honest about it and it will serve you well Xx_

Louis could _sense_ a presence behind him. It was one of those strange feelings where something in the atmosphere changed while someone approached from behind you, and of course, he span around in his seat to find none other than Niall staring over his shoulder, directly at his phone screen, with furrowed eyebrows. It felt like a knife had punctured Louis' chest, and as though he had broken out into a cold sweat, and he was begging Niall through his eyes not to say a damn word about it aloud. It somehow worked, as an astonished Niall said nothing and proceeded to move into a new empty seat next to a blissfully oblivious Harry.

There was a thick cloud of tension as Liam tried to brightly greet Niall, who had turned up late, having been catching up on some science work. Louis linked eyes across the table with Niall, who almost seemed to _glare_ back. Clearly he wasn't as understanding and accustoming to the newly found information as Zayn had been. Louis hurriedly tapped onto his phone's text messages, and onto Niall's name.

 **Louis:** _Look I know you are gonna be so so confused now but I will explain later. Please don't say anything to him :( so so sorry_

He watched Niall's eyes scanning over his phone screen, before he glanced up at Louis across the table momentarily before returning his focus to typing out a reply.

 **Niall:** _I kinda can't believe it mate....so this whole time it's been ur bloody account???_

Louis was glad Harry was too concentrated on talking to Liam to notice how suspiciously Louis and Niall were conversing through text. One glance at Niall's screen and he would be very suspicious indeed. Niall was at least decent enough to slightly divert the phone's screen from Harry's view.

 **Louis:** _Yes. Can we talk about it tonight?_

Niall didn't reply through text this time, simply giving Louis a stern nod when they locked eyes again. Great - Louis would have to explain the dilemma to yet another person. He had only just told Lottie, for fuck's sake, which was embarrassing enough.

"Guys!" Harry suddenly exclaimed, making Louis physically jump, hopefully not too much to be obvious. "Can I ask you all a _massive_ favour?"

Now wasn't a time Louis wanted to be doing people favours (unless that favour was giving Harry a nice blowjob; anything for a friend.)

"What is it?" Zayn questioned, intrigued but slightly hesitant as to what they'd be asked to do.

"Basically, my mum's inviting about ten of her mates over tonight, one of them just got engaged, and has asked me to be in charge of preparing all of their food and drinks for the night." Harry rolled his eyes. "I was wondering if you guys would be willing to help? My mum will actually pay you per hour."

No surprise there.

"So you're practically asking us to be slaves for the evening?" Liam chuckled. "Sounds like an ideal evening to me."

"Not slaves, I'd put it more as waiters." Harry rephrased, with that cheeky grin and prominent dimples. "Otherwise I will be doing it all alone!"

"I'm up for it. Because I'm a good friend." Niall smiled too sweetly, before shooting Louis a glare across the table that made his skin crawl. Wow, that didn't make Louis feel like shit at all(!)

"I'll do it." Louis quickly agreed. Harry smiled at him, with a differing glint in his eye than what he gave the others. Again.

Liam too agreed, and Zayn reluctantly did, after some persuasion, including how much money they'd get (a hefty £10 each per hour.) Louis just didn't want to face the awkward situation of being there with both Harry and Niall. Niall was bound to keep dropping spiteful hints, and Louis could _not_ let Harry know a thing about his involvement with the Lily Henderson account.

He hoped, for the life of him, Niall would keep his big mouth sealed.

* * *

Louis was certainly glad they didn't have to wear stupid outfits as the waiters, but he did feel slightly ridiculous that he was in this position. Is this how Harry _always_ got treated by his mum? It was quite strange really.

Anne laughed away brightly in the living room, amongst the lively chatter of all of her friends, while Louis and _his_ friends were crowded around the island counter in the centre of Harry's kitchen. There were packaged food boxes stacked around, some requiring cooking and others just to be tipped onto plates and brought out to the dining table.

"Okay, let me sort out jobs," Harry looked quite stressed, despite this only being for his own mother. "Niall and Liam, could you sort out all the packaged stuff that needs cooking? Just slam as much as you can into the oven. Time it all. Thank you."

Liam and Niall nodded and got to work speedily, as though Harry was a head chef directing a team in a real restaurant's kitchen. Louis only suppressed his laughter because this was Harry.

"Okay, Lou and Zayn," Harry turned to them. (Louis shivered whenever Harry called him that.) "One of you can help me on drinks, the other needs to just get the stuff from the fridge and plate it up. I don't mind who does what."

Louis really wanted to offer to sort out the things from the fridge, knowing how flustered and shaky he would be trying to pour drinks with Harry, but a smug Zayn was quick to jump in and ruin that.

"I'll do the fridge stuff."

Louis wanted to stab him. For goodness sake, Zayn always went out of his way to stick Louis with Harry. It probably was to benefit Louis, but mostly so he could laugh from across the room at how stupidly awkward Louis could be around hot guys. Louis could have sworn Harry had to stop himself from smiling too much at Zayn's choice.

"Thank you, Zayn. All the plates are in the cupboard, above the sink and to the left." Harry informed, before turning to Louis. His eyes briefly looked Louis over, so painfully slowly, before he spoke. "Let's get started. All the drinks are over there." He gestured with his head to the counter by the door, where bottles were lined up, with many champagne glasses to the side. Trust Harry's family to own so many; they probably had so many social gatherings like these.

"What do we have to do exactly?" Louis stupidly asked. God, Harry really did have silly effects on him.

"We have to pour the drinks, Louis." Harry smirked, and Louis really wanted to disintegrate for asking something so dumb. "Just a few of each, then put them onto a tray, so they can all choose whichever drinks they want."

Harry unscrewed the lid off of an expensive bottle of Prosecco, before starting to pour even amounts into champagne flutes, and he glanced at Louis when he realised he was purely watching. "You gonna help? Just grab a bottle and do as I do."

"Oh, right," Louis shook his head, as though entering reality again and shaking from his daze, before grabbing a wine bottle and beginning to help Harry in filling the empty glasses. He noticed his hands lightly shaking and hated how nervous he got -- how close he was to Harry affected him so greatly.

"Are you cold?" Harry asked, grinning to himself. He definitely knew why Louis was really shaking but wanted to put him on the spot. He seemed to love doing that.

"Yeah, just a little bit." Louis lied, not wanting to give Harry the satisfaction. He continued to pour, changing bottles when enough glasses of one beverage had been distributed. They were making light work of it, with timers beeping every now again as Niall and Liam worked on the oven food. Zayn had already ran some of the cold foods to the table, and Harry had done the same with a tray of the drinks. It was all going reasonably well... so far. Something always seemed to go wrong for Louis, he was still waiting to discover what it'd be this time. 

It happened when Harry was pouring from a bottle of Rosé. He dramatically 'slipped' whilst pouring, spilling streams of the liquid down both he and Louis' fronts. It was honestly quite laughable how stupidly obvious it was - so staged - but Louis wasn't complaining because he knew they'd have to go and change their t-shirts now.

"Shit! I'm so sorry, Lou!" Harry gasped, placing the bottle quickly onto the countertop and grabbing a couple of squares of kitchen roll. He hopelessly dabbed at Louis' torso, causing Louis to mentally roll his eyes at Harry's awful acting.

"It's fine, Harry, it's okay." Louis laughed, nervously swatting Harry's hands away. He felt lucky they hadn't caught the attention of the others yet, especially Niall.

"It isn't fine, I've absolutely drenched you! Follow me, let me get us both fresh t-shirts." Harry instructed, before heading towards the door, hesitating in the doorway as he waited for Louis to follow. Reluctantly, he did, through the hallway and towards the staircase. Oh no, Louis couldn't be alone with Harry in his room! He would freak out and say something absolutely ridiculous, he just knew it.

"Nice to get away from all that hectic shit for a second anyway." Harry laughed, glancing back at Louis with a grin as they reached the top step, walking along the hallway and entering Harry' bedroom. The window inside was wide open, meaning the cold air caused even more goosebumps to erupt onto Louis' arms, and causing the liquid down his front to cool and stick the material to his abdomen.

"Again, I'm really sorry," Harry's voice had significantly lowered, almost seductively, as he rummaged through his chest of drawers for some replacements. "I'm so clumsy."

Louis was awkwardly shifting on his feet, hands clasped together behind his back, muttering again that it was okay and Harry didn't have to feel bad. Harry pulled out a plain grey t-shirt, unrolling it and holding it up for approval. Louis granted it, catching it successfully as Harry threw it his way.

"Thank you, Harry."

Louis then realised that this meant he'd have to remove his t-shirt in front of Harry, and his was bound to increase the tension once again. Harry was already one step ahead, peeling off his damp t-shirt before chucking it into the laundry. Louis let himself look over Harry's toned body, wanting to run his fingers (and maybe tongue) down those pronounced abs.

"You gonna change or just stare?" Harry had that fucking smirk on his face again. Louis wanted to die. He didn't even reply, knowing he would stutter, and quickly removed his own t-shirt before awkwardly threw it onto Harry's desk while pulling the new one (which smelt like Harry, beautifully) onto himself. He knew Harry had inspected his body as he did so - he had just _sensed_ it.

"Nice and dry again." Harry lowly stated, with a half-smile. "But let's not hurry back just yet."

Oh God, Louis felt like he'd explode if any more sexual tension was added to the situation. Harry's voice was so low and his eyes had seemed to change; they'd almost darkened. Louis felt like he was shaking again.

"Why not?" He piped out. It was all he could manage. Harry swiftly moved past him, bare arm brushing Louis', before he sat on the edge of his bed. He patted the space beside him, as an invitation for Louis' company, and Louis found himself quickly complying and sitting in a spot a bit further from Harry than where he had patted.

"Because something needs to be done." Harry said.

What? Louis was panicking inside. Had Harry found out about the account? No - he would be angry if he had. Was he talking about the tension between he and Louis? Probably.

Louis gulped, "About what?"

He didn't even have time to react as Harry crawled towards him on the sheets, so Louis crawled backwards towards the headboard, not able to face something like this yet, and this meant Harry ended up with his body hovering over Louis', who lay on the bed beneath the gorgeous boy. Louis was completely shaking due to the proximity between them; nothing of Harry's body was touching Louis, but there were just centimetres between their noses, and Harry stared so deeply into Louis' eyes that he probably contacted his general soul.

Louis was trying to control his breathing, as Harry held his weight off of the smaller boy by planting his forearms on the bed either side of Louis' face, stabilising himself, knees keeping his lower half off. Louis failed at breathing steadily, each new breath catching in his throat as they were drawn in, and a smirk slowly spread onto Harry's face.

"Are you nervous being this close to me?" Harry barely even whispered, breath tinged with mint. Louis' enlarged eyes probably told the answer, plus the layer of sweat forming on his forehead. He quickly shook his head anyway. "I can hear you struggling to breathe. Is that what I do to you, Louis?"

Louis was going absolutely crazy within the walls of his body; blood was throbbing through his veins at lightning speed and he could feel a pulse in his temples due to how heavily his heart thumped beneath the fresh t-shirt. The iridescent greens captured in Harry's eyes were hypnotising him, and he just wanted to close the gap between them and kiss him. But he was frozen still; he didn't move a muscle.

"Yeah." He whispered softly, following a tense silence after Harry's impossible question, and Harry's smirk only seemed to become more defined. 

In one slow, drawn out movement, Harry lowered his hips against Louis', just one roll down of his hips, causing Louis to choke out a whimper which had been caught in his throat as their lower halves underwent intense friction. He then stared wide-eyed at the boy above him, unable to comprehend what the hell was going on, and cursed himself when he felt blood racing to his lower region.

"Does that feel good, Louis?" Harry purred, right into Louis' ear, lips ghosting over the skin and causing Louis to densely shiver and hum out a second moan which he couldn't hold back. "Yeah?" Harry whispered, before he did the action of rolling his hips down once more, so this time Louis gasped instead of making any noise, fingernails clawing down the material on Harry's back.

"Fuck yeah," Louis shakily breathed, staring right into Harry's eyes. "Fuck yeah, Harry." He repeated, swallowing thickly in his throat.

Harry left an unbearably long silence as he stared at Louis again, and Louis could have sworn he felt Harry's dick throb against his through his jeans, and Louis was half-hard himself.

"But we should be getting back to work, shouldn't we?" Harry smugly asked, voice still merely a whisper. And then he was climbing off of Louis, smiling calmly as though nothing had happened.

"No..." Louis involuntarily and desperately whined out, hating himself for having instinctively said it, and Harry smirked down at the lightly sweating, half-hard boy still lying on his bedsheets.

"I'll be downstairs. I'll give you a few minutes... you should have a little break." Harry eyed Louis' growing bulge, before heading towards the door, turning back briefly before he left. "Oh, and Louis?"

"What?" Louis brokenly asked, still in shock, in a voice ragged from continuous failed breathing.

"You sounded so fucking hot when you moaned like that. Even if I _am_ straight." And with a quick wink, Harry exited the room.

What the FUCK just happened?

Louis had no idea, but now he'd have to get rid of his fucking boner in the bathroom before returning to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screams*
> 
> so yeah... happy friday.  
> tomorrow's chapter will contain more of niall's reaction xx


	18. The Threat

Louis had to rid of his erection in Harry's bathroom, as quickly as was humanly possible, before he returned to the kitchen. He still couldn't quite fathom what had happened. It was like a dream (definitely a dream) and he felt so dizzy. 

When he returned, the boys were almost relaxed now as the food had been sorted out, but Harry was just finishing a few drinks - as he and Louis were lagging behind, having wasted time upstairs. Harry's eyes immediately flicked to Louis as he entered the kitchen, setting down the bottle from which he poured drinks.

"Nice that you've decided to join us, Louis," He smiled, very brightly, giving Louis chills as to how fake it was. Niall, Zayn and Liam had no idea what the fuck had happened -- but Zayn would soon, because Louis definitely had to tell him. "We've just... _finished_." Harry put emphasis on the final word, giving Louis the impression that he was relating to Louis having 'finished' himself off in the bathroom before heading downstairs. He knew how to mess with someone's head.

Louis decided not to reply, again knowing that it would only give Harry the satisfaction of making him flustered once more. A moment later, Anne entered the room, wearing a flowery chiffon blouse and a smile.

"Hi, boys," She grinned, gaining a chorus of greetings from all but an embarrassed Harry. "I really appreciate your help with this evening, you all did a great job. You'll all be getting forty-five pounds each for doing so well."

They had been there for three hours, from four until seven, meaning Anne had upped their pay to fifteen pounds per hour, generously. They all thanked her greatly, before she turned to Harry and subtly muttered something. His response was an irritated "I took them this morning." Louis knew they were talking about the antidepressants, but kept it private for them both. Harry looked quite flustered and embarrassed that his mum had mentioned it, even subtly, in front of his friends, making Louis feel even worse for knowing as 'Lily' (and, well, for snooping around in Harry's medicine cabinet... involuntarily.)

"Why don't you boys stay over tonight?" Anne asked out of nowhere, which made Louis' ears perk up. He didn't know whether he would make it through the _night_ knowing Harry was sleeping in the same room. It was a risk to his health. 

"If... if they _want_ to, I mean..." Harry trailed off as he awaited their responses, eyes scanning the four of them before remaining on Louis. "If they're all comfortable with staying over at such short notice."

Louis gave Harry the smallest little smile while their eyes were linked, before turning to Zayn and raising his eyebrows as he waited for their agreements first.

"Yeah, if that's okay." Zayn casually agreed, nodding and smiling. Niall and Liam too agreed, so Louis played along and found himself nodding. He really wanted to back out and go home to his own bed but it was too late to say no now. He was tempted to make an excuse but it seemed pointless; at least he would have the other boys to decrease the tension as much as possible.

"Okay, if you all let your parents know, if you need to, that's fine with me." Anne grinned, before she picked up the final tray of drinks and wandered off into the living room again. Harry was awkwardly drumming his fingertips on the kitchen cabinet that he leant on, smiling to himself. 

"So... yeah, should we go upstairs? I'll tidy everything up tomorrow." Harry said, leading them all towards the hallway.

Louis didn't want to go upstairs again, he would forever associate that bed with what had happened between he and Harry now. His t-shirt was still on Harry's desk when they got inside, bedsheets slightly unsettled from how Harry had moved on top of Louis. He'd just have to try and get that image out of his head for now.

"It's only, like, half seven. What do we do now?" Liam laughed, throwing himself down onto the swivel chair near Harry's desk. Louis decided he'd sit cross-legged on the carpet, by where Liam sat, trying to get the thought of being eye-level with Harry's crotch out of his mind. His stomach turned as he remembered how Harry's dick had throbbed against him just half an hour ago. He just wanted to fucking suck Harry's dick, but clearly it wasn't easy to get to something like that.

"Harry, why don't you message that Lily girl? Bit of entertainment, right?" Niall was doing this on purpose. He gave Louis a sly little smile. Louis rolled his eyes, probably a bit too obviously, but he didn't give two shits anymore because he was sick of Niall's attitude towards him.

"That's boooring," Harry whined, sitting on his bed and flinging his long legs out in front of him. Well that was relieving. "Let's just have a nice chat."

" _That's_ boring!" Niall complained, with a sharp laugh. "Who here votes Harry talking to Lily?"

Niall's hand was the only one raised in the air, causing Harry to stifle a laugh. "Niall, you're alone there, buddy."

"Whatever." Niall rolled his eyes, sitting on the floor by Harry's bed before pulling out his phone and moodily resting his chin on his other hand. Harry gave Louis, Zayn and Liam a 'what-the-fuck' look but didn't showcase his confusion aloud. Niall had a tendency to throw tantrums when something didn't go his way, it was how he'd always been.

"How about Truth or Dare then?" Zayn suddenly suggested, sitting by Harry on his bed. "That's always fun."

"Yeah!" Niall was abruptly interested once again, speedily putting his phone away with a grin on his face. The moment something remotely interested him, he switched back in the blink of an eye.

"Now that's not boring!" Harry cheered. "I'll grab a bottle for it, this'll be fun." He picked up a can of deodorant from his dresser, deciding that would be a decent alternative to a bottle.

Louis didn't know why, he just sensed that Niall was planning on asking things that would make him uncomfortable. He had been acting like such a dick since he'd found out Louis was behind the Lily account. Liam, being the sensible one, seemed hesitant about the game, as the other boys formed a circle, cross-legged on the floor, but joined after a moment. Louis was probably more hesitant than Liam in his head, but he wanted to act as calm and collected as possible. He was such a mess inside.

"Right, who's gonna spin?" Zayn asked, eyes scanning his mates.

"I will," Harry said, placing the bottle in the centre. "Are we all ready?"

"No." Louis quietly chuckled, earning a smirk from Zayn across the circle. Harry span the can fast, and they all watched in anticipation as it gradually slowed down, before landing on Liam.

"What a surprise." Liam rolled his eyes, laughing lightheartedly. "Am I choosing either truth or dare?"

"Yeah."

"Truth."

"Boring!"

"Playing it safe. It's the first go!" Liam defended.

"Right, umm..." Harry trailed off in thought, looking up to the left. "You fucked any girls lately?"

Liam was immediately flustered about the question, being the most shy of the group, which made the others laugh. "Umm... not _recently..._ "

"You mean not _ever_." Niall scoffed, thinking it would be funny to pick at Liam's insecurities, flaming anger in Louis which added to what was there to begin with.

"Niall, that was a little bit uncalled for." Louis backed Liam up, shooting him a powerful glare. It seemed like Niall had been looking for a fight, and he was going to get one.

"Shut up, Louis. When was the last time _you_ fucked a girl then? Never? Exactly." Niall sassed. Louis felt like breaking Niall's neck at that exact moment, but Harry was quickly there to reconcile.

"Alright, guys, let's not start any arguments. I'm sorry for asking something so personal, Liam." He maturely extinguished the dispute, relieving both Louis and Liam. This was already going wrong and they were only one question in. It was bound to get worse.

"Let's go again. Liam, you spin now." Harry instructed, sitting back and planting his hand behind him to stabilise himself as he watched Liam reach for the deodorant and give it a good spin. It landed between Louis and Zayn, but luckily was more on Zayn's side.

"Truth or Dare, Zayn?" Harry smirked (Louis hated that damn smirk and what it did to him.)

"Dare." Zayn risked, rubbing his hands together mischievously. "Throw one at me, come on."

"I've got one," Louis claimed, after internally searching through what would be a good one. "Post a status on Facebook saying you're looking for someone over the age of forty to hook up with."

Harry burst into the brightest of laughter, causing butterflies to swarm Louis' stomach. Harry had such a delightful way of expressing when he found something hilarious.

"Yeah, do it." He smiled.

"Okay," Zayn pulled out his phone, and the other boys crawled over to him on the carpet to look over his shoulder as he started creating a new status.

**Zayn Malik**  
_I'm looking for a hook-up. Preferably 40+ ;) who's single and looking??? I'm ready ladies_

Niall was too excited to even wait for Zayn to press share, reaching over to do it himself before they all burst into fits of giggles. This was their idea of top quality humour.

"To be honest, Zayn, you will probably get some takers. You're already a hit with most women." Liam complimented, playfully, earning a pat on the back of appreciation from Zayn.

"Next! Come on, Zayn." Niall impatiently ushered.

"Keep your hair on. Christ!" Zayn laughed, putting his phone away before spinning the bottle, pretty damn badly. It landed on Harry, who hid behind his hands and peeked through his fingers (and maximised his cuteness once again.)

"Dare!" He yelled through the skin of his hands, which still covered his face. Louis wanted to just hold him forever. But he still hated him for leaving him hanging earlier when he was literally erect.

"Make out wid' Louis for a minute." Niall immediately dared. Louis' cheeks flushed red, part of him wanting to apologise to Harry as though Niall were his reckless child. Why would an apparently 'straight' Harry want to make out with Louis: a boy?

Harry lightly laughed at the situation, looking at Louis and licking his bottom lip the tiniest bit. Louis momentarily thought Harry was going to go for it, but who was he kidding? Zayn looked just as baffled by the sudden suggestion as Harry and Louis were, eyes slightly wide as he immediately looked at Louis.

"Yeah, I... I'm straight." Harry nervously chuckled. Louis was hit by such an overwhelming wave of rejection that he felt like he wanted to burst into tears. He was sick of this already, Harry's constantly changing sexuality and how his actions differed from his words. It drove him crazy.

"That _was_ a bit extreme, Niall." Zayn justified. "Let's not make things too personal, yeah?"

Liam was sitting back and taking everything in but trying not to get involved, while Harry didn't seem too phased by what Niall had said. Louis, on the other hand, wanted to disappear.

"I was just trying to make this more fun... for Louis." Niall muttered, a smug smile prominent. Louis didn't dare make eye contact with Harry, he didn't fucking dare, he kept his eyes trained on the floor and just waited for this to pass. He wished he had never agreed to stay over now. He would just be tormented by Niall the whole night, and Harry would probably end up coming to know about the Lily account.

"That's enough now," Harry announced, hands up. "Niall, clearly you've got a problem with Louis tonight, or something."

Oh no. This could be the moment Louis' life was shattered to pieces. His whole world could have been about to fall apart...

"Yeah, we just had a disagreement. That's all." Niall mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Doesn't really involve me."

Louis' pleading eyes didn't leave Niall's for one moment.

_'Please don't tell him. I'm begging you. Please.'_

"Over what? Everything okay?" Harry questioned, concern written all over his face. Louis had to just face it now, there was nothing he could do.

"Well... it's something he's done, actually," Niall hinted, glancing between Louis and Harry a few times. "Something that's just plain wrong."

"Niall." Zayn warned, quickly catching onto what was about to go down.

"Plain wrong?" Harry repeated, eyeing Louis with furrowed eyebrows. "Wait, I'm so confused... what's he done?"

Liam was just as confused about Harry, being the only other person in the dark about it, and they looked as though they were about to find out Louis had commited a severe crime. Louis' heart was drumming in his chest and he was overcome with hot flushes. He hated this. He hated Niall. He hated himself.

"He'd probably rather I keep it a secret." Niall smirked, eyes trailing over to Louis again. "Until it's finally revealed."


	19. The Reveal

Louis took the risk of replying to Harry on the Lily account again, this time while they were all sat in Harry's bedroom at about half ten at night. It wasn't a public thing, just Harry knew he was talking to her, wanting to avoid Niall's usual nosy self.

 **Harry Styles:** _How are you doing this evening beautiful? .xx_

Louis tried his hardest not to smile to himself upon reading the reply, and this time he could discreetly reply as all five of the boys were on their phones anyway, in utter silence. Harry was the one who started the conversation, so Louis didn't have to feel entirely awful.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Better now I'm talking to you Xx_

Louis loved flirting with Harry, whether or not it was specifically he who was. It was just fun seeing how Harry reacted to the things he said.

 **Harry Styles:** _You're cute. Still can't believe I've heard your voice and everything now. I'm captivated by you .xx_

Wow. Louis was digging himself further and further into this obsession.

 **Lily Henderson:** _You're just as captivating Harry. If not more. Xx_

Fuck, it was so true. Everything Harry said and did was absolutely astounding to Louis; revolutionary. He was just something else.

 **Harry Styles:** _I just feel like I can tell you anything. Like about my depression and stuff. Nobody else knows about that except my family. I trust you. I've been through some really rough times and I still am really. Learning to love myself again you know? .xx_

Louis still couldn't believe Harry didn't love himself. He was more than loveable to everyone else.

 **Lily Henderson:** _I'm so glad you trust me. And I hope you can love yourself too because you are wonderful person Xx_

Louis watched discreetly as Harry smiled to himself upon reading the new message. It made Louis' own eyes light up, seeing Harry smile like that. Just purely seeing him happy was enough to make Louis' week.

 **Harry Styles:** _I hope one day I meet you .xx_

He already had. Little did he know. Well, not Lily herself, but who he was really talking to: Louis. He didn't know when he'd ever get out of this mess.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Maybe some day. Hopefully. Xx_

 **Harry Styles:** _I've gotta say, it makes me horny looking at your photos .xx_

Oh. OH. Louis was sat in the room as Harry sent those exact words. Now this felt surreal. The way Harry's eyes were trained on his screen in full concentration, putting something so provocative despite his friends being present in the room. Louis didn't know quite how to respond as Lily, but as Louis he was nervously looking at his phone screen, desperate not to make eye contact with Harry at a time like this.

"Guys, we should go to Nandos tomorrow." Niall broke the tense silence, and Louis was so happy about that. He was probably the only one who fully benefited from Niall's sudden outburst, having been overcome by so much sexual frustration within himself that he couldn't bare the silence for any longer. The others idly agreed, too distracted by their mobile devices to give their full attention, and Harry was clearly waiting for Lily's reply, which Louis was in the process of typing.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Do I now? The thought of you horny turns me on you know. Do you like to touch yourself Harry? Xx_

God, this was so bad, but Louis felt he had to do it. It was just the right time, and the sheer thought of Harry touching himself when he's turned on made Louis' stomach tingle, especially after having heard how deep and sexy Harry's voice turns when he's turned on (from having experienced it into his ear earlier that evening.)

 **Harry Styles:** _Of course I do. I feel as though you like it when I talk about wanting to fuck Louis too. I've thought about him before when I've touched myself Lily .xx_

Well fuck, Louis couldn't have wished for a better outcome than what he was getting. Harry had mentioned him once again without being asked about him. He sure did like him, even if it was just sexually.

 **Lily Henderson:** _Bet you'd prefer him to touch you yeah? Xx_

Louis wanted to touch Harry. He wanted to wrap his hand around Harry's dick. _Fuck._

He heard Harry clear his throat suddenly, as though trying to hide some sort of sound of arousal from what he was receiving here. Louis couldn't believe he was witnessing this firsthand.

 **Harry Styles:** _Fuck. And his mouth on my cock .xx_

Louis would very fucking happily grant that fantasy. He couldn't fathom how Harry could turn him on so easily - it just happened so naturally.

 **Lily Henderson:** _That's hot, wow. But I've got to go Harry, sorry, talk another time? Xx_

Louis couldn't continue that conversation for any longer without popping a boner. And it'd be an awful coincidence, too.

 **Harry Styles:** _Shame. Okay love, speak to you soon .xx_

* * *

A sleeping Harry Styles was the purest thing Louis had ever laid eyes on. He was the first to fall asleep, curled up into a fetus position on the carpet of his bedroom, with a thin blanket draped over his fully clothed body. He hadn't intended on falling asleep, as the boys were all having a casual conversation and Harry seemed to be getting gradually more tired until he finally dozed off altogether.

His long, dark eyelashes were grazing his cheeks, plump lips pouty as he slept, and he rested his cheek on the back of his large hand. Louis was dying to take a photo, to treasure this moment forever, but knew it would be a very weird move. Liam was drifting off next, at around half past midnight, after many false claims that he wasn't 'one bit' tired. He lay facing the wall beside Harry's bed, curled in on himself and very lightly snoring.

"Who's gonna be the last man standing?" Zayn joked, despite the fact that he knew just how awkward things were between Louis and Niall at the moment, who sat distant from each other in the room. Louis was aimlessly fiddling with his fingers, while Niall stared into space.

"Probably one of you two, I'm starting to get tired myself." Louis admitted, letting a yawn escape. "Might go to sleep soon."

"Probably just because Harry's asleep, there's no point in you staying awake if he isn't." Niall muttered under his breath. Louis' head whipped in Niall's direction, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"For fuck's sake, Niall, when are you going to get over yourself? How long are you going to do this to me?"

"Guys, please don't argue. And keep your voices down, you'll wake the others." Zayn shushed, using a finger to his lips to animate this. "You can have this conversation at a better time, not at one o'clock in the morning in Harry's bedroom."

That was true, this was literally the worst setting they (Niall) could have chosen to start this stupid argument. Harry was trying to sleep, and Louis didn't want to wake such an angelic human being. 

"I'll do this until you give me a valid explanation, Louis. You're pretending to be a fucking girl online, for crying out loud! And Harry's your mate, I don't see how you can talk to him on that stupid account without feeling absolutely crap about doing it!" Niall vociferated, causing Louis to violently shush him and warily glance over at Harry, whose eyes were still shut, chest rhythmically rising and falling. Louis couldn't help but be wary, this was risky.

"Keep your voice down, will you! They're trying to sleep, as Zayn already said." Louis hissed, rolling his eyes at Niall.

"No, you want me to keep quiet because you don't want any chance of Harry finding out that Lily Henderson is in fact Louis Tomlinson," Niall snarled. "So you can keep on talking to him and leading him on. It's just disgusting, Louis, really."

"Guys, I'm sorry I had to hear you talking about this now, but can you sleep now? Let's fucking talk about this tomorrow." Came **Harry's** gravelly voice suddenly. A hot flush pulsated throughout Louis' entire body. He felt the blood drain from his face, and he could feel his pulse all the way up to his neck from how heavily his heart thudded against his ribcage. 

Harry's eyes were now open, as though he had been listening this whole. Fucking. Time. He had heard every word. Louis' world had just crumbled and fallen apart all around him. His gaze was on Louis, in such a powerful and hateful glare that Louis felt his insides knot together, and stared back with the most apologetic and generally terrified expression he could muster, mouth hung slightly open in horror. Zayn's eyes were wide and just as startled, staring at Louis in shock, while Niall looked away slightly smugly.

Well shit. Harry knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...shit?
> 
> Omg was it too soon? I don't think so because there's a lot that needs to be done after Harry's found out. What do you think will happen next??? :O
> 
> This story won't be hugely long btw, but it's really fun writing it xx
> 
>  
> 
> Also I watched Dunkirk yesterday. Brilliant film. Never realised how good an actor Harry actually is, wow.


	20. The Aftermath

Words couldn't explain the horror that coursed through Louis' body as his eyes fluttered open the next morning. It shocked him that he had even managed to fall asleep, having lay in pitch black darkness for what seemed like countless hours following the event of Harry uncovering everything. He had known Zayn was lying awake too, but neither of them dared to utter a word to each other into the darkness.

The light stung his eyes and he felt empty. It was dangerous how fragmentary he felt now, how Harry had so quickly become _addictive_ , and talking to him through Lily Henderson had become unexplainably procedural. He had wanted to leave Harry's house last night, the moment he had been found out, but he was just so frozen in place that all he could find himself doing was lying down on the carpet, fully clothed, and with no effort to accommodate comfort of any sort. He just hated himself.

He squinted over to where Liam slept, now facing away from the wall, having moved in his sleep. He was sound asleep. The poor soul was still clueless about what went on last night, having slept through it entirely, and was the only individual now who didn't know. He soon would, once Niall bragged about it.

Speaking of Niall, he too was still fast asleep, mouth gaping open slightly and breathing heavily. Louis didn't even want to _dare_ look in Harry's direction, he would just be struck with guilt and he couldn't handle that just yet. He had ruined any chances he had of getting with Harry now. Zayn too was in a deep sleep, mouth covered with his hands, which were pulled up to his face as he slept. He really did look sweet when he was asleep, he had since they were all young (as creepy as that sounded.)

Louis gathered the mental strength to glance in Harry's direction, from where he had been sleeping on the carpet. He wasn't there. There was a tousled, disturbed blanket, as though he had gotten up not too long ago, and Louis immediately felt his heart hammering, mind scouring to wonder where Harry could be. Well, it was his house, so maybe he was just making a cup of tea or something.

Louis knew that wasn't what Harry was doing, really. He was probably upset and needed to get away from Louis, so as not to be in the same room as him. Louis found himself stretching and standing up, pulling his right sock which had ridden down in his sleep. Some instinct far back in his mind told him to go and find Harry, talk to him while Niall was sleeping.

He checked the time on his phone.  
**7:12 a.m**  
No wonder the others were still sound asleep. Louis slid his phone into his pocket before creaking open the bedroom door as soundlessly as possible, glancing back to make sure there were still three sleeping boys, before slipping out of the gap and into the hallway. He prayed he wouldn't run into Anne or Gemma on his way, and luckily the house seemed very much silent still. He crept down the stairs, deciding he could leave the house if he really had to, but first he wanted to know where Harry was.

There were four pairs of Chelsea boots lined up by the front door, and Louis had inspected upon arrival that there were three there before, and one pair on Harry's feet, meaning he was most likely still in the house. Louis tiptoed across the laminate flooring, spotting from the hallway that there was a scribbly note taped to the closed kitchen door.

_I haven't abandoned you boys, I'm just sat out by the pool. Needed some time to think. -H_

Louis deeply inhaled, knowing now he would have to make a decision: open the kitchen door and continue to the garden, where Harry was, or leave and go home. If he left, it would all be left in a mess. But there was a possibility that things could end in a mess if he chose to go to Harry, too.

He ended up choosing the first option anyway, remembering that he had to be a man and stop backing out of things. He pushed the handle down to the kitchen, quietly opening the door before shutting it behind him. The early morning sunshine streaked in through the sliding glass doors, a golden orb which was lightly visible over the treeline in the garden. Louis stood on tiptoes to look out of the window above the sink, pulse thickening when he saw Harry's silhouette, sat facing away from the window and feet dangling into the still pool water.

He took in another deep breath, after realising he had stopped breathing altogether with stress, before slipping out of the already open sliding door and onto the patio. Harry clearly wasn't aware that he had company, softly breathing to himself and calmly stirring his bare feet around in the water. Louis stopped when he was about ten feet away, stuffing his hands in his pockets and trying to think of what would be best to say at a time like this. His mouth reacted before is brain, though, filling the silence.

"Can we talk?"

Harry very visibly jumped, causing water to rapidly slosh around from where he kicked his feet up, and his head whipped around to face a nervous Louis. Harry's face fell, eyes shutting, eyebrows furrowing and a heavy, audible sigh leaving through his nostrils. He didn't reply, instead turning away again and running a large hand down his face in stress. Louis hated this, he hated it so much. He was lost for words and ultimately just wanted to disappear and never come back.

"Look," Louis shakily said, unable to control the steadiness of his tone. "Harry, I-I'm really, really sorry."

"So it's true." Harry stated, voice stern and stringent. He didn't look back at Louis again, unable to face it, and there was a lump in Louis' throat which swallowing couldn't remove.

"Yes." He admitted, voice surprisingly unshakeable. There was a thick silence, before Harry brought both hands up this time, to smooth over his face, and sigh even louder than before.

"You know, Louis, I trusted you." He dryly informed, sparking that culpability in Louis yet again. "I thought you were the one who would never let me down, really. I guess I was wrong."

"Look, Harry," Louis began, strolling closer and kneeling by Harry's side. "I never meant for it to go this far. I don't know _why_ it did, it's just-"

"You shouldn't have fucking done it in the first place, then!" Harry coldly snapped, shifting away from Louis along the pool's edge. "I honestly can't fucking believe it, Louis!"

Louis could feel tears trying to well behind his eyes, but he was fighting to hold them back. He didn't want it to look like he was trying to gain pity; he didn't deserve it.

"Should I go home?" Louis piped, in almost a whisper, never having felt so small.

"Yes." Harry immediately responded, without hesitation, folding his arms.

"Okay." Louis pushed himself to his feet, walking a few steps away before stopping and facing Harry's direction again, whose body was still turned away. "I'm so sorry, Harry. And just know that I care about you just as much as Lily Henderson did."

He strolled back through the garden, into the kitchen and hallway, and out the front door. He decided he would walk the long way home because he didn't even deserve to catch a ride.

* * *

Louis sobbed loudly into Zayn's shoulder, shaking and gripping onto the fabric of Zayn's t-shirt while Zayn soothingly rubbed his back, in an attempt to calm him down.

"It's okay, Louis," He calmly cooed, "We all make mistakes."

"Nothing like that!" Louis wailed, glad they were in the privacy of Zayn's bedroom. "I'm such a shit person! He's so fucking broken because of me!"

He heard Zayn sigh, steadily, before he held Louis at arms length to look at him. Tears glistened Louis' eyes, tear streaks down his cheeks and face a rosy pink. Zayn sadly smiled at his best mate.

"He means so much to you, doesn't he?" He softly questioned, craning his head to the side. "And I know you mean a hell of a lot to him too."

Louis sniffed, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his jacket. "How do you know that?"

"It's kind of obvious, mate. You know it is." Zayn scoffed, patting Louis' back. "He will have to look past this, right? I mean, if he's going to be your mate, he will-"

"He's not going to want to be my mate now. Imagine how embarrassed he must feel! Every thought and feeling he's ever had, he told to Lily. Including his feelings about _me_ , Zayn. You can't tell me he's not dying inside right now."

Zayn nodded in thought. "Yeah, I can see how that would feel for him. But you didn't even talk it out properly, did you? You didn't even have time to properly explain yourself. You still have a chance to do that!"

"I don't know if I want to. I don't know what the fuck I'd say, I'd just embarrass myself even more." Louis put his head in his hands, in shame, shaking it lightly. "I've ruined it. Everything."

"Would it be best talking to him with us around? Maybe it'd be less awkward." Zayn suggested.

"Not with _Niall_ there. I know he'd keep making smart-arse comments, it's just what he's like. He was buzzing when Harry found out." Louis rolled his eyes, recalling Niall's smug reaction. He didn't get why Niall had to act so stupidly, as though he basked in Louis' misfortunes purely because he could say he was right.

"Text Harry, then." Zayn offered. "At least that wouldn't be face-to-face, and you could type a big, long paragraph explaining yourself, and he'd have time to consider it instead of having to think up a reply on the spot."

Louis slowly nodded to himself, gradually warming up to Zayn's idea. He didn't really have much to lose now, and Zayn was right in saying Harry could consider Louis' reasoning for a longer period of time. Louis would definitely be taking time off school now, anyway, to avoid facing Harry Styles in public again.

He pulled out his phone and got up his conversation with Harry. He began typing, forgetting Zayn was even by his side, and felt like a novelist crafting their latest hit. Soon, he had a big paragraph, as required by Zayn.

**Louis:**  
_Harry. Let me do a bit of explaining. I made that account because when you joined the school, I really really liked you and was scared to talk to you personally, even though we became friends through friends. It started out as this stupid dull idea but I guess it got addictive, you got addictive. I'm not judging you for anything you told me either and I am always here if you want to talk, Louis not Lily. I will be myself from now on. I guess I'll never be able to fully define how sorry I am because there's an extent to what words can express. Please consider this. I'm deeply sorry. Louis._

He hit send before locking his phone again, ignoring Zayn, who was determined to read the reply. He stopped prying for Louis to show him once he was told it was none of his business, by a snappy Louis.

Louis wished he could turn back time, which is what he had been wishing for for a while now. He had been so stupid and now it had all fallen apart. He'd be surprised if Harry even wanted to talk to him now. All the things he said, especially about Louis, the explicitly sexual things, he had been saying directly to him without even knowing. He probably felt like such an idiot, and wished to disappear, just like Louis did. Nothing would ever be the same again, and Louis knew it.

* * *

A reply from Harry came when Louis was sat on the bus, travelling back from dropping Daisy off at a friend's house at the edge of town. It was a long response, one Louis couldn't read in the preview box, meaning he had to face it and open it in his text messages.

**Harry:**  
_Louis. If you liked me, you should have just spoken to me when I joined. It's not like I would have punched you in the face, you should know I'm a decent guy. But now all I want to do is yell at you. Scream at you. I can't believe it, seriously. You shattered my trust, I gave you my attention and affection and you ruined it. I am so deeply embarrassed and humiliated by what you've done to me. I feel manipulated and like everything I said meant nothing. Forget all the good things I said about you because I was lying. Maybe I felt bad for you. Bye Louis, maybe we will discuss this in person one day. WE NEED TO. You can't just hide away from it for fuck's sake. Harry._

Louis felt like he had been stabbed.

_"Maybe I felt bad for you."_

That couldn't have been true, because no one in their right mind would make such sexual remarks about somebody they simply felt bad for. And why to Lily Henderson? It seemed like such an excuse, but perhaps Louis was just praying for that so as not to add this to a list of reasons to hate himself.

_And the way Harry had climbed on Louis that evening, and gotten so close and connected their bodies so dirtily that Louis still shivered when he remembered it._

He had to mention that. Out of all Harry had responded with, he had to.

**Louis:**  
_What about when you got on top of me at your house huh? And you grinded your fucking hips on me, was that because you felt bad for me?_

He nibbled on his lower lip nervously as he awaited a response. His phone informed him that Harry had read the message and was typing. Fuck, he had no idea what the response would be, but somehow he was looking forward to it. Harry was typing for a good couple of minutes.

**Harry:**  
_I don't know why I did that Louis._

He didn't even have a legitimate response. That told Louis that Harry was lying about having felt bad for him. He wanted him and couldn't even deny it.

**Louis:**  
_I remember how turned on you looked Harry. So don't fucking tell me that you feel bad for me because I know you're lying._

Arguing with Harry felt absolutely awful, but for the time being Louis was on the good side - the winning side. On this topic, at least.

**Harry:**  
_Please just fuck off now and leave me alone. You've embarrassed me enough. And I hope you're happy that you've upset me even more when my life was fucking hard enough!!_

Okay, that hurt. The last thing Louis wanted to do was hurt Harry, but that's what he had been doing from day one. He just wanted to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think Harry's thinking at this point?
> 
> Do you think he will forgive Louis easily?
> 
> Do you think their relationship has a chance?


	21. The Conflict

Louis' plan to skip school on Monday didn't exactly go to plan, as his parents weren't too happy that he gave no excuse as to why. He couldn't exactly tell them that it was because he created a fake account and pretended to talk to his mate, who later found out and was mad at him. It just made him sound like a complete and utter idiot. Which he was.

He text Liam and asked whether he wanted to walk with him that morning, and got an immediate yes. He had no idea whether or not Liam knew about the situation with Harry but figured he would find out when they met on the corner of the street.

Liam held his usually cheerful smile, eyes fixed on Louis as he approached him.

"Hi, Louis!" He greeted, with a small wave, as they joined and turned to walk in the direction of the school.

"Hello..." Louis warily replied, looking carefully at Liam as they walked. This sparked confusion.

"Why are you looking at me funny?" He worriedly queried, licking his thumb and cleaning around his mouth. "Did I have food around my mouth?"

Louis let out a short laugh, lightly shaking his head as he turned his gaze to watching his feet taking each step along the pavement before him. "No, Liam. I was just wondering whether you knew."

"Whether I knew... what?"

He was blissfully unaware of the events that had taken place at Harry's house. How had he missed everything? Surely someone must have mentioned it in front of him.

"About... me? Harry?" He hinted, watching the quizzical look on Liam's face, as he shook his head.

"What's happening between you and Harry?"

"Liam, I am going to just hang out with you today." Louis instantly insisted, feeling as though Liam really was an angel on earth today. "Can I? Just you and me?"

"Of course. Did you two fall out then?" Liam asked, glancing left and right for the two of them before they crossed a road. 

Louis couldn't believe Liam didn't know. He was quite speechless, and felt bad in a sense that nobody had bothered to include Liam - despite it being quite embarrassing news on Louis' part. Liam had always been wary of the Lily account, but no way would he have suspected it to be Louis'.

"Yeah, you could say that." Louis sighed. "You'll probably find out today. I'd just appreciate it if we could avoid Harry as much as humanly possible today, if that's okay with you."

Liam slowly nodded. "Okay. But I've always believed any disputes should be sorted by being around the other person. Otherwise you're prolonging it and making it worse."

Liam's wise words. He always had something witty to enlighten Louis with. He was like Louis' personal counsellor. But he couldn't be around Harry, he would probably end up in tears. He had already cried enough while alone in his bedroom.

"I'll see what happens today." He said, as they reached the gates of Hall Cross. "But I can't promise I'll want to be around him. It'd just be tense, you know?"

"That's fair enough mate. But... Harry and Niall are over there." He nudged his head over to the field.

The two of them were in clear sight, lounging on the grass as usual. Louis wanted Zayn to be there too. He watched from afar as Niall nudged Harry, before gesturing with his head towards Louis and Liam. Harry's head turned so he was looking directly at Louis, who wanted to run out of the school and never return. He had only just arrived and Niall was already causing even more conflict.

Louis was surprised, however, when he saw Harry gesturing with his hand for them both to come over to him. Louis and Liam exchanged confused looks.

"It's up to you if we go over there." Liam said, waiting for Louis to make the move. Louis was totally unsure what Harry could possibly want... unless he was going to give Louis the chance to start again. That was highly doubtful, considering how upset Harry was. Louis shook his head, for Harry and Niall to see. Harry turned his attention away from Louis and pulled out his phone.

The suspecting notification went off on Louis' phone. He pulled it out, and read the text from Harry.

**Harry:**  
_I need more of an explanation .xx_

Maybe he was just used to putting kisses, because they definitely didn't fit the situation. Harry was looking at Louis again across the field. Louis typed out a reply.

**Louis:**  
_I don't know what there is left to explain Harry._

"Wait, I'm so confused." Liam chuckled, trying to find humour in it. "Is this a joke? Or have you actually fallen out?"

"Of course we've fucking fallen out, why would it be a joke?" Louis didn't mean to snap at Liam, who responded with a quiet apology, but right now he couldn't help but act irritable. He could bet his life Niall was making Harry send this, for some added drama.

**Harry:**  
_I bet you'd love to kiss me .xx_

Louis locked his phone and put it away the moment he read the stupid message. He could see Niall chuckling in the distance, and decided to hold his middle finger high in the air for the two of them to see, before heading with Liam towards the school building.

* * *

_'You have got to be fucking kidding me.'_ was Louis' immediate thought when he was told by Mrs Jacobs that the seating plan had changed, and he had been sat next to Harry. It was in alphabetical order by surname, and Louis wanted to shoot himself as he was told this, having arrived late to class with Liam. Harry was sat on the back row, chin resting on his palm and gaze to the table. Louis couldn't sit with him, no _way_ could he. But he was stood in front of all of his classmates, and the lesson was on hold as they waited for him to take a seat.

He hesitantly moved to the back of the room, and Harry's gaze didn't move from the tabletop. Louis slipped into the chair by his side, without a single word, and Harry scooted his chair away noisily, as far from Louis as possible, on the hard flooring. It hurt Louis how this is what their friendship had come to. He let his head fall shamelessly onto the tabletop, having lost all mental strength at this point, and he was close to just giving up. There was nothing he could say to Harry now.

"Chin up, Lily." Came Harry's voice suddenly, in a mocking whisper. "Oops, my bad. I meant to say Louis."

Louis didn't reply. He kept his head on his folded arms and didn't move it from that position. He was so distraught that even Harry's intoxicating smell and voice had no effect on him at the moment. Harry had a right to taunt Louis, to be honest, but it still really fucking hurt to receive the mockery.

"So you found out about my depression through Lily, yeah?" Harry continued, in a hushed tone. "Well that's gotten worse, in case you were wondering."

"Just shut up." Louis gritted. He didn't want this right now, even if Harry really was hurting.

"Why should I shut up?" Harry grilled. "I have a right to make you feel shit, Louis. Can you even imagine how I feel right now?"

"Hmm, challenged about your sexuality?"

Harry deeply exhaled in response, a sharp push of air. He didn't respond immediately, having to conjure up something to say.

"You'd have had more of a chance with me if you hadn't pretended to be a fucking girl, Louis."

Oh. There it was - Louis had no chance any more. If he wouldn't have made the account, he and Harry could have advanced towards something intimate, but how the hell was he supposed to have known that? For all he knew, Harry was an undeniably straight boy when he joined Hall Cross.

"Doesn't stop you from wanting to fuck me." It was a snide comment on Louis' part, but he just wanted to drop it in there. Harry had mentioned it countless times, that couldn't be dismissed just because he was upset.

"I wouldn't be careful with you at all, if that's something to go by."

Okay? What was that supposed to mean? Obviously it meant Harry was angry with Louis and no longer cared for him, but it was still quite a highly sexual comment. He hated how his body reacted once again, to the thought of Harry just completely going full force on him. It shouldn't have impacted him as much as it did.

"Definitely straight, aren't you?" Louis muttered under his breath.

They didn't speak again for the remaining duration of the lesson, but Louis knew Harry still hated him. With an absolute fucking passion. Maybe it could be resolved. Probably not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dontworry they will end up fucking at some point omg,,


	22. The Evidence

**Zayn:**  
_How did it go today man?? Sorry I wasn't in, I slept through my alarm!!!_

Louis wasn't very happy with Zayn's excuse. He had experienced one of the most horrendous days without him, what with Harry constantly dropping snide remarks about what had recently happened, and Niall spurring him on. Plus, Liam was still clueless as to what exactly had happened, so Zayn was his only real source of support.

**Louis:**  
_Such a crap day, seriously. Liam still has no fuckin idea what's happened so he was hardly defending me._

He kind of wanted to make Zayn feel bad for having abandoned him for the day. He needed any sympathy he could get at the moment.

**Zayn:**  
_I'm so sorry man, I will be in tomorrow 100%_

Louis knew for a fact that they had an English lesson tomorrow. Meaning they had Mrs Jacobs. Meaning he would have to sit next to Harry again. It would be another full hour of Harry taunting him, making the most out of being sat with him against his will. It was getting to the point where Louis was thinking he should try to get over Harry, because things were only turning to shit.

Saying this, he still found himself logging in to his own personal Facebook account, ready to scour Harry's Facebook profile for any new photos or status updates. Despite everything going on, it was still nice being up to date with Harry's life, anonymously. He typed in the 'H', clicking on Harry's profile suggestion, and felt his heart sink slightly as he played 'spot the difference' on his screen.

There was an ' _Add Friend_ ' option. Harry had unfriended Louis on Facebook. This was getting ridiculous now, he was doing all he could to make Louis feel absolutely awful about himself. He didn't add him again though, and continued to scrolling down Harry's profile. He was immediately struck with a new photo.

It was a selfie of Harry with Sophie, and had been posted an hour ago.

Seriously?!

The caption almost made Louis throw up, and he felt a pang of hurt.

_The only love I'll ever need in my life. I've learnt to stick to the ones you know and love, because you never know who could deceive you. ♡ xxx_

Definitely aimed at Louis. It was funny how Harry must have had a feeling that Louis visited his profile regularly because there would have been no way he'd have seen it otherwise, as they were no longer Facebook friends. Louis remembered all the things Harry had told 'Lily' about his true feelings towards Sophie, and how they were completely fabricated and he wanted to "start fresh." He wondered what Harry really thought he was getting out of posting the photo, as Louis knew well now that he didn't like Sophie like that.

* * *

"I'm tempted to just skip English, if I'm being honest." Louis told Zayn, as they approached said lesson. Louis had been trying to build himself up all day for this very moment, constructing his emotional armour, ready to deflect any horrible things Harry had ready to say, but it all fell apart when he was actually making his way there. He had seen Harry earlier, so he knew he was in, and he wouldn't stop staring at Louis (or maybe glaring) throughout their other classes.

"Don't let him do that to you. That's exactly what he's hoping you'll do, he wants to impact you, Louis. If you go in there with your head held high and pretend you don't give a shit, he won't know what to do. I promise." Zayn assured, as they walked up to the classroom door. They were late once again, as it had taken quite some persuasion on Zayn's part to get Louis to leave the cafeteria, and this only made things even worse.

"Let's go in." Zayn commanded, once Louis left his previous little rant unanswered. He pushed the handle down and walked in first, with Louis trailing along behind him, and all eyes were on them.

"Boys, please take your seats. Zayn, you're sat at the front with Mr. Matthews." Mrs Jacobs instructed, snapping her fingers in order to convey an urgency for them to hurry up. Louis did as Zayn had said, holding his head high as he approached his seat beside Harry, who watched Louis with careful eyes.

"Hi, Lily." Harry nonchalantly greeted, as Louis pulled out his chair and slid into it.

"Hello." Louis simply responded, knowing that his lack of a reaction would irritate Harry. He was correct, because he got another comment as he pulled his pencil case from his bag.

"That annoyed you yesterday. It should annoy you, Lily."

Harry put emphasis on the name once again, and it did make Louis quiver on the inside but he didn't make this known.

"I'm over it." Louis shrugged, keeping his eyes trained towards the front of the classroom. "If you want to forgive me, you do that. If you don't, then I guess we're no longer friends."

The quiet words leaving Louis' lips surprised _himself_. It was like the previously silenced, mature side to himself was finally taking action, despite the fact that he really didn't want Harry to leave his life.

"Unless you want to tear our whole group of mates apart, I suggest you stop acting so indifferent, Louis. If you and I stop being friends, the group will split in two. We both know that." Came Harry's mature side. Was that his way of saying he would forgive Louis eventually?

"I'm just saying that it's not up to me, Harry. I'm the one who's done something awful, and you're the victim who needs to forgive. It's not difficult, it's how the world works."

Harry reflected on what Louis had said for a good few minutes. It was such a prolonged silence that Louis thought the topic had been dropped, and they were finally going to concentrate on the lesson, but then came Harry's response.

"I don't know if I should forgive you."

"You told me that you like me." Louis hastily brought up, having remembered suddenly when Harry had said so. It caught Harry off guard slightly, and this was visible. He looked away from Louis suddenly, mouth opening to speak but unable to reply, as he raced to think of a reply.

"N-No I didn't." He faltered. Never had Louis heard Harry, who oozed confidence, stutter. It was such a painfully awkward and obvious lie.

"You did, Harry. You can't deny it."

"I didn't specifically say that." He argued, shaking his head. "And as I said before, I felt bad for you."

Louis pulled out his phone, and immediately Harry held a hand out as though to tell Louis to not. He knew Louis was about to find evidence of what Harry had said.

"I'm showing you, Harry. If you're so sure you didn't say it, why are you so worried?" Louis smirked. Harry deeply inhaled, shrugging his shoulders. Louis logged into the Lily account, feeling no shame about it anymore, because he wanted to just prove Harry wrong and get an answer. He scrolled all the way up to the day he and Zayn pulled the little jealousy experiment on him, smiling to himself when he found exactly what he was looking for.

"Help me, I think I might like him, kiss kiss," Louis read aloud, watching Harry's eyes shut and a sigh to leave his mouth. "Honestly was convinced I was straight. Now I just want to push Louis face down onto my bed and fuck--"

"Okay!" Harry retaliated, in whisper, visually annoyed and having given up. "I get it. I said it."

"I just want to know why." Louis piped, locking his phone and returning it to his pocket. "Can you tell me why?"

Harry looked Louis in the eye. It was like back in the good old days, when he and Harry were just increasingly good friends and kept making sexually tense eye contact, and the world stopped spinning momentarily.

"Because I kind of _do_ Like you. Or... _did_ like you. It's just, you've upset me now, and you don't understand how much I've cried at home."

Oh. Louis didn't quite know how to respond to that, having half expected to receive a reply from harry stating that he didn't ever like Louis, and he was saying it all as one, big joke. Louis too had cried. What Louis had done had destroyed them both.

* * *

"He's back with Sophie, apparently." Zayn mentioned to Louis, as they sat in their usual booth in the diner the next afternoon. "He was talking about it on the field."

If Harry was talking about he being back with Sophie when Louis _wasn't_ around, then maybe he was actually back with her? Or (most likely) he was getting back with her to mask his sexuality. He knew how much he had told 'Lily' about his feelings for Louis and needed to do something to stop Louis speculating.

"Which makes total sense, considering he always said how he never actually liked her." Louis sarcastically remarked, rolling his eyes. "He admitted to me in English that he did like me. _Did_ , not _does_."

Zayn deeply breathed in, as though he were contemplating something, making Louis concerned as to why he suddenly turned all reflective. "Louis, Harry told me something earlier, after English."

"Go on..."

"He told me he likes you. He said that he was going to ask 'Lily' for advice on how to get with you, so obviously when he found out it was you, he didn't know what to do, and... well, now he's kind of stuck." Zayn explained, with a sorry expression for having hidden it from Louis for the day. "I really shouldn't be telling you this, please don't let him know that I told you."

Louis hated himself even more now. He hated Niall for having argued with him about it for Harry to hear that night. He hated himself from creating the damn account in the first place. He could have been with Harry by now.

"I've ruined everything, oh my God." Louis sighed into his hands, which covered his face.

"You can still fix it."

"No I can't." Louis denied, shaking his head. "How can I possibly fix this? I've abused his trust and he doesn't like me any more."

"Did you not listen to what I just told you?" Zayn exclaimed. "Louis, he _likes_ you. Still! He told me that specifically, and that's why he's so stuck on this. You need to make a move."

"How would making a move help at all? He would just get mad and say he's with Sophie now."

"That's the interesting part," Zayn smirked, "He also told me that he's pretending to like her again."

Okay, what?

* * *

Louis caught Harry staring at him during their maths lesson. And Harry had quickly looked the other way. This told Louis that he staring was intentional, and he certainly hadn't wanted Louis to catch him doing it. Louis had responded by sending a soft, reassuring smile his way, which Harry failed to return. Louis just wanted to assure him that he was sorry. And that it was okay for him to like Louis.

The fact that Harry was 'pretending' to be with Sophie was purely to make Louis jealous. There was no other reason, as Zayn had already mentioned it was all fake, meaning Harry still wanted to advance towards Louis. He simply didn't know how because he was so emotionally struck by what Louis had done so early in their friendship.

Louis was feeling particularly confident that very evening. He decided he would text Harry, considering everything he had learnt today.

**Louis**  
_It's sad we had to sort of argue again today. I know it's my fault. I still can't say how sorry I am for all I've done. Hopefully you'll see that soon._

Harry replied in under a minute.

**Harry:**  
_i know you're sorry._

It was straightforward and blunt. It held no hint as to how he was feeling at that specific point in time, but Louis could tell he was conflicted and hurt. He needed to leave Harry with something; an option. He had to respond with something that would get Harry thinking overnight...

**Louis:**  
_If you still want me, considering everything I've done, prove it to me tomorrow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say a long chapter today, it is just over 2000 words, but realised that this story won't be hugely long from here on and don't want to cram it all into a few chapters.
> 
> Harry needs to choose whether to stay mad or take what's right in front of him!!!
> 
> *unedited* - sorry xx


	23. The Confrontation

Louis felt so heavily regretful of the text he had sent Harry the night before. The first thing he did once he had woken up and come to his bearings, was roll over and unplug his phone from charge, hastily unlocking it in hopes there was some sort of response from Harry. Nothing.

He even found himself double-checking that he had actually sent the message, that it wasn't some stupid dream where he was too overconfident, and he found the text once he tapped onto their conversation.

**Louis:**  
_If you still want me, considering everything I've done, prove it to me tomorrow._

There was a read receipt beneath the message. Harry had seen it, meaning it was on his mind now, and he had had all night to consider it. Louis was utterly terrified, to say the least. He was hoping to high heavens that this wasn't something which would turn out to be highly embarrassing, if Harry chose to completely ignore the text and go on with his day as usual. That would be one of the worst case scenarios.

Louis threw on a plain red t-shirt and some dark blue skinny jeans, pairing it quickly with a pair of red Vans before he grabbed his rucksack and left the house. He checked his phone again while walking to the corner, where today he was going to meet both Liam and Zayn, seeing that there was still no reply. He didn't know why he was expecting one, as Harry had already read the message the night before and had chosen not to respond. He was the third to arrive, Liam and Zayn already busily chatting away as he approached them, barely even interrupting their conversation until Zayn spotted him.

"Hey, Lou." He grinned, and Louis hated how the smile hinted sympathy. It was like all they saw him as was a joke now, like everything they said and did could hurt him because he was fragile.

"Alright?" Louis responded, in greeting, all the excitement lacking in his voice. "Let's get going, yeah?"

The three of them began the descent towards school, in a silence which Louis chose to fill after a couple of minutes.

"Anyone spoken to Harry lately?"

Any topic regarding Harry seemed tense, following what had happened between he and Louis. It was like Louis had commited blasphemy just by bringing him up.

"I did, this morning." Liam said, clearing his throat, as though he was trying to act overly casual. "Just about the science coursework."

Louis nodded slightly, wondering whether he should mention the risky text he had sent. He wanted to turn tail and run back home, too worried to even face Harry in school, but at least they didn't have an English lesson, and he wouldn't have to sit with Harry for another hour today. He realised that they were walking in silence again, too preoccupied in his thoughts to notice beforehand, and he could hear just about every breath that left one of their mouths. It stayed this way until they had walked through the school gates, and immediately Louis' eyes were scanning the field for any sign of Harry. Harry, nor Niall, were anywhere to be seen. It wasn't likely that they were both absent, making Louis think they had probably already headed into the school building before everybody else.

Louis was dreading today, especially if Harry had decided to show the message to Niall. He didn't want to be a laughing stock; all he could imagine was Harry and Niall chuckling together at Louis' foolishness, necks craned over to reread the text message again and again.

Louis jumped from his daze when Zayn snapped his fingers in front of his eyes, shifting his focus back into reality, which he had temporarily floated away from. He nervously laughed, apologising quickly for having left the two of them momentarily, lost in his own thoughts.

"Were you thinking... about the things happening with Harry?" Zayn hesitantly guessed, slightly catching Louis off guard. All he could do was nod, not in a position to start explaining the situation with the new text message. He was too exhausted and generally apprehensive to go into it now. Zayn gave an understanding nod, sensing that Louis wanted a change of topic, and did just that. "Let's go inside."

Louis let the other two lead, wanting to stay as hidden and far back as he could. That overwhelming frisson of trepidation hit Louis once again, and he just wanted to be at home, in his room, far from Harry's judgements. The hallways were crowded, convincing Louis that Harry could have been watching him through the dense packing of students, scrutinising him with Niall. The tall boy was nowhere to be seen, though.

* * *

Louis wandered off, away from Liam and Niall, at break time. He had finally convinced himself that he needed some time to himself, to reflect on everything and stray away from any questions that his friends were trying to dish about regarding his reserved and nervous demeanour. He trailed over to the outdoor benches, by the large water fountain, having told Liam and Niall that he was going to fill up his water bottle at the taps and would find them 'later.' He wasn't in any hurry whatsoever.

He fell back onto the bench, finally loosening his body after realising how tense he was. He rotated his feet, ridding of the tightness from having walked away so speedily from his mates. Once again, he was checking his mobile, which was still absent of a text from Harry. This was getting stupid now; he was deluding himself into thinking Harry cared. Louis had seen a glimpse of Harry earlier - from afar, so Harry didn't see him - so he knew he was present in school that day and could have 'proven' anything to Louis by now. He felt like such an idiot.

Harry simply didn't want Louis. That's the only conclusion he could draw.

He wanted to hurl his phone into he water fountain as an unbearable anger swarmed his veins. He wanted to text Harry a huge paragraph, stating every single livid and humiliated thought and feeling racing through his head, but he knew it would only worsen the situation and make Harry think even more badly of him (if that were even possible.)

He drew in a deep breath, relishing the quiet atmosphere, as no other students were currently present in the walled area. He could finally reflect on his thoughts, and these only. He just wanted Harry, so damn desperately.

"What did that text mean?"

Louis' breath had caught in his throat, all tranquility extinguished from his being, as Harry's regosniable voice rang out from behind him. He swiftly turned on the bench, cheeks flushing crimson as he saw Harry leaning on one hip, arms folded in a reserved kind of manner. Louis didn't quiet know what to say, as he was face to face with what he could only now describe as his worst nightmare, swallowing thickly as he gawped at Harry.

"Th-The text..." He faltered, absolutely hating himself for doing so. "Umm... I..."

Harry abruptly swooped in closer, sliding down onto the bench right next to Louis. The latter's breathing was irregular, not having expected Harry to want to be so close at a time like this, ultimately lost for words as he tried to think straight whilst gazing skittishly into those emerald orbs.

"You said you want me to _prove_ it." Louis was shocked to hear that Harry's voice had come out as a mere whisper, as though he could sense some unknown individual eavesdropping on them. "How could I do that?"

Shit. SHIT. Was that Harry's way of saying he _did_ still want Louis? Was that one text really all it took to get him?

"You want me?" Louis managed to keep his voice level, eyes leaving Harry's due to the overpowering stare he was giving, which battled against his own and won.

"I've never wanted someone so badly." Harry gently confessed - purred - and his gaze still penetrated the side of Louis' face, whose heart rate had quickened upon processing Harry's words. He didn't quite know what to do now, just waiting for something, anything, to happen.

"You... you _do_ want me?" He couldn't filter out the disbelief from his voice, making it fully known that he wasn't expecting this answer. His breath once again hitched as Harry scooted closer on the bench, lips barely ghosting over Louis' ear, sending shivers down his spine as he spoke.

"Every last bit of you, Louis."

"Harry? Harry, where are you, mate?" Niall's voice echoed from somewhere nearby, and Harry left Louis' side as quickly as he had joined it, proceeding to stroll a few feet away. Louis was still tingling all over from Harry's words, but was just as startled as Harry to suddenly hear Niall approaching. "There you are!" His voice was louder now, having entered the small area and found Harry. "With... Louis."

Louis hated the resentment in Niall's tone, as though he would never forgive him. He was constantly acting as though Louis had punched him directly in the jaw, when really he had done something which Harry had evidently already forgiven. Louis couldn't believe that Harry had breathed what he did in his ear just seconds ago.

"Yeah, we were just having a talk." Harry wasn't lying, they definitely were having a talk, but about different matters completely to what Niall would have inferred. Niall nodded, eyes flicking between the two of them. He hummed in thought.

"You forgiven him yet?"

Louis was sat right there, and it was as if Niall had somehow not registered that. He was talking as though Louis would never find out what was being said.

"That's between me and Louis, Niall." Harry maturely answered, and the look he gave Louis was so deep and so subtly alluring that Louis' head span. He just wanted to make Niall disappear and pounce right onto Harry. He really hated Niall's existence at the moment.

"Oh, okay, sorry for caring." Niall rolled his eyes, as though he was entitled to know everything about everyone's lives. "Maybe I am interrupting something, huh?" It was clearly a joke, what with Niall's flash of a smirk, but little did he know he was onto something. Louis couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Niall hadn't decided to show up.

"Maybe you are." Harry played along with the joke, which wasn't actually a joke, and he and Niall laughed for a moment before a look settled in Niall's eyes, as though he could really sense a change in Harry.

"Anyway, come on, H. Let's go grab some food." Niall quickly found a way to get Harry away from Louis. It was as though he had figured something out and was determined to separate them as quickly as possible, physically tugging at Harry's sleeve. Louis watched as the tall boy was dragged away by Niall. Louis shot Harry a sexually enticing look, knowing that it was all or nothing now, and what he received in return was a suggestive wink.

* * *

**Harry:**  
_I want you to come to my house tonight. Is 7 alright for you? We need to talk .xx_

Louis' heartbeat dipped upon reading the text that had dropped down on his phone's screen. It was already half past five and he was sat in his room, in his pyjamas, shocked as he took in the words.

_Harry's house. Tonight. To "talk."_

All he could think about was sex. God, he just wanted to get it done with already, break that tension and sexual frustration inside of himself, but he knew that he'd have to get the talking out of the way first. He felt both excitement and nerves stirring around in his stomach, the latter overriding the first feeling, and he immediately began planning what to say in his head. He had to mention all the reasons he made that account, if that's what Harry wanted to talk about, but honestly his mind was too blank to conjure anything up. He couldn't be alone with Harry again without so many urges kicking in within his body. He needed Harry now more than he needed water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it wasn't too long or detailed but.....Just Harry and Louis alone in Harry's house next chapter :O smut anyone?


	24. The Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *includes oral sex omg

It just felt too surreal to be true.

Louis had jumped into the shower for a thorough wash as soon as he had replied to Harry's text with: _'7 is okay... I will be there.'_ He wanted to make any effort he could to look and feel presentable, despite Harry having seen him countless times before in his life, and couldn't get out of his head how Harry had spoken to him by the water fountain that morning...

_"I've never wanted someone so badly..."_

_"Every last bit of you, Louis._

It made him shudder thoroughly. Was this finally going to be it? Was he finally going to get Harry right where he wanted him? It just didn't feel real. Harry was so perfect, how had Louis managed to charm him?

He didn't want to show too much that he was making an effort, deciding to put on his black skinny jeans and a plain grey t-shirt, but he sprayed one spurt of body spray on each side of his neck, knowing that would be enough. He checked the time on his phone.

**18:43**

17 minutes away. He was internally panicking. Was this really happening? Because it felt like it was a dream. 

He decided to text Harry by the time he had left and began the walk over to his house, knowing it would resolve the slightest tad of awkwardness, trying to divert his attention between his phone screen and the world around him, so as not to go wandering into the road whilst typing.

**Louis:**  
_On my way over now....just a bit confused about this I guess ha ha_

He wanted to end it with a kiss but he stopped himself. Besides, Harry had said he wanted to 'talk'. And notwithstanding the way Harry had said those chillingly seductive words that morning, the talk still could have been a serious one, not necessarily cutting straight to the chase and ending in a hard fucking on the bed -- _okay, Louis really wanted Harry to fuck him. The intensity of it made his head spin._ His phone buzzed in his clasped hand.

**Harry:**  
_Okay Louis. My mum and sister are out so don't feel too awkward about being at my house .xx_

Oh no. That meant Louis would be completely alone with Harry. He didn't know whether he could handle that; the tension was sure to eat him alive. He surely wouldn't make it through.

**Louis:**  
_I might be a bit early if that's ok, only a few minutes away._

He decided he wouldn't return the kisses. Whatever he did affectionately towards Harry made him feel bad, like he was on the Lily account all over again, and he hated it.

**Harry:**  
_Of course that's okay Louis .xx_

Harry was being _too_ nice. It almost seemed as though he was doing it out of pity, or some sort of joke, and it got Louis' anxieties and paranoia stirring up foolish ideologies. What if Harry had Niall there with him? What if they were ready to humiliate him, as a part of some big, stupid game? He suddenly felt hurt. It felt like there was no other reason Harry would be inviting him there, alone, at such short notice.

**Louis:**  
_Is Niall with you?_

He speedily hit send before he could back out of it. He had to know beforehand, rather than turning up and discovering it upon arrival. He was hoping Harry wouldn't have betrayed him like that...

**Harry:**  
_Nope, just lil old Harry. Why do you ask? .xx_

Okay, that felt better. Harry had effectively put a plaster on Louis' aching mind. But it didn't resolve the fact that he still had to face Harry in his home - that wasn't going to be a walk in the park. 

He arrived a few minutes later, as he had promised Harry, hopping up the few steps to Harry's front door. He left it a couple of seconds before gently rapping his knuckles against the glass of the front door, holding his breath as he waited. He felt like he was waiting to pick up a date on prom night, the anticipation was ridiculous. He spotted the tall silhouette of Harry through the glass, blurred by the warped, patterned glass, and he couldn't help but smile. He hated how it couldn't be restrained.

The door swung open a moment later, Harry beaming at him in greeting. Louis took a moment to realise that Harry wore a shirt which was almost completely undone, just half buttoned up, as though he had quickly found it and thrown it on right before Louis knocked. Louis felt like he was trying too hard not to look at Harry's exposed chest. This visit was going to be tragic.

"Hey," Harry grinned, drumming his fingers against where they rested on the door. His eyes very briefly raked down Louis' body before concentrating on his face again. "Come in, Lou."

 _Lou._ And now he felt insecure. Harry's eyes had been all over him.

"Thank you." Louis softly smiled, taking the invitation and stepping into Harry's home. It smelt of vanilla. Harry shut the door behind them before rubbing his palms together. Louis was liking how kind Harry was being again, and it was strange how quickly he had transitioned to this, having held an awful grudge towards Louis for the previous few days. Maybe it was all an act - who knows?

"Slip your shoes off, my mum will murder me if any dirt gets in these carpets." Harry joked, rolling his eyes with a smile. Louis quickly complied, kicking his trainers off by the door, feeling immediately more comfortable with the feeling of his sock-bound feet against the soft, fluffy carpet beneath them. He realised that he had only spoken two words so far, too encapsulated by how tense he felt to say more, hands stuffed in his pockets, balling up the material into his hands.

"Anyway," Harry cleared his throat perhaps also beginning to sense the tension. "Should we head upstairs?"

Louis wanted to say no, but it would obviously just be rude. Being back in Harry's house brought back bad memories of when Harry had found everything out. Louis was wondering whether Harry felt the same whilst being there, then cursing himself internally upon realising that this was Harry's own home, he wouldn't feel awkward in it.

"You're being really quiet, Louis." Harry commented, as they tackled the stairs. Again, Louis had left Harry's question about going upstairs lingering in the air, too distracted by his inner dialogues once again. He really needed to step back into reality.

"Sorry," He breathily laughed. "Just stuck in my thoughts. As usual."

They reached Harry's bedroom, going inside. It was still fairly plain, with the walls white and furniture wooden and bland. The clothes inside, which were slightly visible through the crack of the doors, were the only element of brightness in the entire room. Louis didn't quite know what he'd been expecting about the state of Harry's room, seeing as it hadn't been too long since he was last there (and was caught.)

"I sometimes think too much, as well." Harry claimed, taking a seat on the edge of his bed with a sigh, and Louis realised he was responding to what Louis had said while they climbed the stairs. He didn't know the context of Harry's thinking, but it could be either to do with his sexuality or maybe his depression. Either way, it was sad that things were troubling him. He deserved the whole world. "God, Louis, please come and sit with me. You couldn't look more awkward."

Louis noticed how flustered he was being and hated it. He was too nervous to sit by Harry on his bed, especially considering what had happened last time, but he found himself joining him anyway. Harry smelt so good, and the way he ruffled his soft-looking hair drove Louis crazy. But he had to remain calm. He just wanted to kiss those damn lips.

"That's better, isn't it?" Harry's voice had dropped ever-so-slightly, just a single octave, but Louis had detected it. It made his body tingle all over, reminders of when Harry had last spoken to him like that before pinning him down on the bed. He wanted that now - _needed_ it.

"Yeah." He replied, linking eyes with Harry. Immensely powerful eye contact. Harry's lips curled up into a smirk. Harry broke the eye contact moments later and Louis wanted to slap him. He just wanted something to happen, his body ached for it, but he was way too shy to initiate anything himself. Plus Harry was hard to read, and his moods changed so vastly.

"I bet you want this dick."

Okay, WHAT?! The words were so sudden from Harry's mouth, so unanticipated, that Louis' eyes massively widened and his breath hitched in his throat. He stared at Harry for a moment, trying to process whether those words had actually just left his mouth in a mumble, and the smirk plastered on his face confirmed to him that they had. He was utterly lost for words, face reddening despite the tension that had existed between them for the last couple of weeks.

"Uh... what did you say?" He nervously laughed, tugging his sleeve over his hand (which was very lightly trembling) as he furrowed his eyebrows at Harry.

"I didn't say anything."

Well. Two could play at that game.

"Oh, I didn't think so." Louis nibbled on his lower lip, stomach twisting as hormones pulsed through him. He wanted nothing more than to push Harry back against the mattress, but he knew they had to build up the tension until it reached the point where they both lost it. Harry got to his feet, almost in a dramatic show, and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, shrugging it off and throwing it over the back of his desk chair. He then stretched his arms out above him, so that lean, toned torso flexed right for Louis' eyes. It was so blatant that it was nearly painful.

"It was getting way too hot in here. Did you bring a fucking heatwave into my home with you?" Harry cracked a smug smile, just a hint of one, and Louis took that comment as one of the biggest compliments. Harry had just called him hot. Subtly. 

"I don't know, it was already pretty hot here before I arrived." Louis shrugged, having to suppress his own smugness, idly scratching the back of his neck. Harry didn't replace the shirt, sitting back down with a bare abdomen, and Louis shamelessly let his eyes raked up and down it, taking in the sight of the tight muscle. He wanted to trace Harry's abs with his fingertips.

"I said we needed to talk, because that's the best excuse to get someone to come to your house." Harry licked very slightly the top right corner of his lip. "And it worked on you."

Oh. Well, Harry certainly didn't have to have made an excuse, Louis would have been round there in a flash _whatever_ the reason.

"All you had to do was ask."

"But now that I've got you here," Harry purred, "It's almost as if I'm stuck on what to do with you." Fuck, that was hot. Louis felt the entire surface area of his skin heat up, every inch, and it really was getting hot in there. This was it now, Harry wanted Louis. It was out in the open.

"You can do whatever you want with me." The confidence in Louis' words shocked himself. But it was the perfect response, and he watched as Harry's pupils became dilated, eyes seeming to darken. Then, in a flash, it seemed to disappear.

"Well, I was thinking we could just watch a film."

Fuck no. Harry had raised Louis right up, heightened his senses, just to let him down again. It was on purpose, though. He was teasing him, making him wait, and Louis knew the time would come eventually.

"And what if I don't want to watch a film?" Louis taunted, because he really did not want to. Sitting there for two hours would be agonising. He just needed to be touched.

"Then I guess we could make out instead."

In lightning speed, Louis was jumping up and straddling Harry's hips as he lay back on the bed, and it was like a new, more confident Louis had leapt out of him suddenly as the tension was taken to the maximum. He planted his hands on Harry's bare chest for balance, leaning down slightly so his chest was just inches from Harry's.

"You need to stop doing this to me." He breathed, watching as Harry's eyes held that dark tinge within them again, smirking as he deeply glanced up into Louis' eyes. Louis' heart pulsed throughout his entire body, breathing ragged, unable to comprehend how he had done something so risky to such a flawless boy. He gasped in surprise as Harry then turned them both over, so a moment later _he_ was the one on top, this time their noses just centimetres apart.

"We'll see who's in charge here, Louis." He whispered, and Louis had never felt so turned on in his fucking life. In an instant, Harry sat up, still straddling Louis but further from his face now, and he scooped up Louis' wrists and slammed them up above his head, so they were resting against the headboard, and Louis had no control whatsoever over what was going to happen. "Keep your hands there."

Louis was hastily nodding, obeying the command, head spinning as Harry lowered his face towards his again, and he felt completely exposed having his hands pinned above him, like his whole body was there and ready for Harry's taking. He wanted to lift his head and connect his lips with Harry's, but he knew that Harry had already adopted the dominant role; Louis was more than fine with that, still trying to get his head around how this was occurring right now. His mind was completely clouded, thoughts hazy, as he stared into Harry's enticing eyes.

"I've never kissed a boy before." Harry's voice was barely a whisper, forever smelling of that alluring mint, and Louis knew that it was about to happen: Harry was about to kiss him. He couldn't stop the emotions that raced through his veins at top speed, feeling like he was going to pass out due to how horny he was already.

"Then why don't you try it?"

Harry hesitated fleetingly before he lowered his head downwards slowly, eyes fluttering shut, and Louis had already naturally shut his as Harry's face neared his. He felt hot breath on his face, gently fanning over him, and then Harry's lips were on _his_. It was just the smallest of kisses, a peck, before Harry lifted his head to look Louis curiously in the eye. Louis rose his eyebrows, as though to non-verbally ask how it was, and Harry responded by moving in for more. He gave two more small kisses, the second one lingering for a moment longer. He then repeated the look in Louis' eyes, and Louis saw something change. It was like something clicked in Harry's brain and he realised that this was what he had needed all along.

And then his lips roughly found Louis' again, moulding together so quickly and lustfully that Louis was wondering whether he could keep up. He kissed back with so much passion, passion that had been stored inside of him since Harry walked through the classroom door, and brought down a hand from where it rested against the headboard to run it down the hot expanse of Harry's back. Still roughly kissing him, Harry grabbed ahold of Louis' wrist and dominantly returned it to its previous spot against the headboard, and Louis smirked into the kiss, having realised just how dominant Harry was. It was so fucking hot, and Louis felt heat prickling beneath his skin, tingling as he tasted Harry's lips on his, brain full of torrid air in the place of thoughts.

What was happening? Louis felt like he was on cloud nine, like he had been consumed by a plentiful flood of euphoria, and a dull ache began to bore its way into his arms as he strained to keep them in place above his head. He wanted the kiss to deepen, for Harry's tongue to brush against his, but Harry broke the kiss before it reached that point. He was heavily panting above Louis, his fringe brushing softly against Louis' forehead as it hung down, and he was looking so deeply into Louis' eyes. The silence was almost unbearable, only consisting of their heavy respiring.

"Incredible." Harry whispered, with a grin. "Could you take your t-shirt off for me, Louis?"

Louis was over the moon, realising that the kissing was just the start of what was to come. He decided to reply back cheekily.

"I could if you'd let me move my hands." He smirked, eyes flicking upwards to where his hands were. Harry reciprocated the smirk, and when he spoke, his voice had taken on that low, turned on tone that had Louis shivering.

"I'll let it slide for now."

Harry shifted off of Louis, allowing him to speedily sit up, gripping the material of his t-shirt from behind his neck and pulling it upwards before it was on the floor. Harry hungrily drank in the sight of Louis beneath him, not hesitating to plant those large hands onto Louis, sliding them up and down the hot skin. Louis felt chills. He badly wanted to reach out and touch Harry, run his fingertips over his skin, but he had already submissively lay back down and moved his arms upwards once again.

"You're being good, aren't you?" Harry purred, hands now gliding up and down Louis' smooth hips. Louis felt himself shiver again at Harry's alluring words. "You're so hot, Louis, you know that? Made me realise I like boys."

Louis couldn't help but smile fondly at Harry, slightly tilting his head to the side to rest against the arm beside it. He was just so speechless, still unable to properly form words as he tried to comprehend how this was currently happening. Once Louis had left a significant silence, Harry smirked to himself, knowing that he was what was impacting Louis.

"Do you want me to take off my jeans, Louis?"

Louis felt his stomach dip in arousal, eyes glancing downwards towards said jeans. He wanted nothing more than for Harry to take those off, it would be one step closer to seeing that beautiful, bare body in all its glory. He found himself nodding, verging on desperate, and Harry chuckled at that before he knelt up from straddling Louis, and Louis watched in anticipation as Harry tugged on his belt, unbuckling it so the metal clinked together, and then unzipped the jeans before gradually pulling them down. Louis' eyes were immediately all over Harry's lower half while Harry threw the discarded jeans to join Louis' t-shirt on the floor. He took in the sight of Harry's thighs, the slight bulge in those black boxers. He was awestruck.

"Like what you see?" Harry lowly asked, biting on his lower lip, and Louis felt the need to ask Harry if he could touch. He felt obliged to have to ask.

"Can I?"

Harry didn't reply verbally. He reached up for Louis' hand once again, clasping onto it before guiding it over to his clothed dick. He held Louis' hand there firmly, and Louis' breathing had increased as his eyes flicked from where his hand lay, to Harry's eyes.

"It's big, Louis."

Louis could feel that. Despite Harry's dick not even being fully hard yet, it still felt large beneath Louis' palm. Harry's hand left Louis', leaving him to do whatever he wanted with Harry's body, and Louis acted out his first instinct by palming his hand over Harry's cock.

Harry was still kneeling above Louis, and he deeply breathed out as Louis did it, eyes fluttering shut and head bobbing backwards. It was a sight Louis had always wanted to see, Harry in bliss. Louis basked in the reaction from Harry, continuing to move his hand slowly over Harry's bulge, biting on his lower lip as he did it.

"God, Louis," Harry breathed out a laugh, eyes remaining closed. "I've always wanted you to touch me. Always dreamt of it."

"I've always wanted to do it." Louis truthfully told, heart thumping in his chest as he worked his hand over Harry. He could feel Harry hardening beneath his touch, his breath wavering, and it didn't take long to make him completely hard beneath the restraints of the fabric. The outline of his dick was visible, protruding slightly against the fabric, and Louis had never felt so turned on, his mind racing. 

"Go ahead." Harry allowed, nodding downwards as though to tell him he could pull down the underwear. Louis did this without hesitation, hooking his fingers around the waist and tugging down the material.

"Fuck yes." Was his reaction, as Harry's rock-hard dick sprang up, against his stomach, and Louis' mouth practically watered at the sight. Harry was right: it was big. He wanted it in his mouth, no messing around, and he showed Harry this by wetting his lips and slightly opening his mouth, tongue slightly out of his mouth as though it were an invitation.

Harry lightly chuckled. "Eager?"

"So eager." Louis confirmed, almost breathless, before his waiting mouth resumed its previous position. Harry chuckled again, in a seductive manner, before he grabbed his dick by the base, pointing the head of it towards Louis' mouth. He teasingly traced it along his lower lip, agonisingly slow, and Louis moaned low in frustration, knowing that he would have to wait.

"You want this dick in your mouth, Louis?" Harry queried with a smirk, lightly slapping it against Louis' lips so he hummed a quiet moan with each hit.

"Yes. Fuck yes, Harry." Louis whispered, trailing out his tongue.

"Then take it."

Louis lifted his head from the pillow beneath it and caved his mouth around Harry's cock, immediately hollowing in his cheeks as he did, taking it to the back of his throat. He tasted the faint tang of salt from the pre-cum that had already beaded at the tip. He seemed to have overestimated himself, lightly gagging as it brushed against the back of his throat, releasing it from his mouth with a sharp intake of breath.

Harry released a closed-mouthed groan, before laughing once again, running a hand through Louis' hair. "Slow down a bit, Lou, we don't want you choking." There was an evident smugness behind his tone. Louis glanced upwards at Harry, eyes glassy, lips moist and shiny, mouth slightly agape as he heavily breathed in and out. He returned his mouth around Harry's dick, eyes not leaving his, sucking in his cheeks again to create a heavenly suction that had Harry lightly throwing his head back, releasing a throaty moan that made Louis' stomach turn. He still hadn't quite worked out _how_ this was happening currently, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

He proceeded to bob his head down, taking Harry's dick almost to the back of his throat again, before moving his head back up, so just the head remained in his hot, wet mouth. He continued this movement, over and over, starting off slowly, and Harry's eyes remained shut as his hand tightened in Louis' hair.

"Oh my God," He breathed, "Fuck, Louis."

The dirty talk, and the tone in which Harry spoke it, spurred Louis on, releasing Harry's dick from his mouth with a pop before holding the base, licking up the length of it, swirling his tongue around the top so Harry was moaning at the sensitivity. Louis then once again placed it in his mouth, working as hard as he could to speed up the rate in which his head moved, taking Harry's dick in and out of his hollowed mouth, twisting his head slightly for added effect.

"You're really good at that," Harry grunted. He was stroking Louis hair now, opposed to pulling on it, deciding to be gentle with him. He didn't want him to stop. Louis worked himself even harder, using one hand to glide up and down Harry's dick while head was moving up and down off the pillow until the back of his neck strained. Harry was lightly thrusting his hips into Louis' hand and mouth, so an occasional gag was the result, and a breathless apology from Harry.

Soon, Harry was close. Louis could sense the change in Harry's breathing, the way his hand once again tightened in his hair, and he knew an orgasm was on the horizon. He released Harry's dick from his mouth, speeding up the movement of his hand as he jerked Harry off.

"Are you gonna cum for me, Harry?" He innocently asked, voice thick with arousal, and Harry seemed overwhelmed by how sexy Louis could be when he was turned on.

"Yeah... all over that beautiful face," Harry breathed eyes closing tightly. Louis' arm strained as he worked his arm faster, watching Harry's body react, chest heaving and knuckles white. "Close, so close."

Louis sucked on the tip once again while he continued to wank Harry's cock, whirling his tongue around once again, and he had no further warning as Harry's body jolted forwards, stomach tightening and a choked moan escaping his lips as he came, half of the cum ending up inside Louis' mouth and half around his cheeks and chin. Louis hummed out a moan of appreciation, using the head of Harry's dick to smear the semen on his chin towards his lips, and Harry was letting out a string of ragged groans. Louis swallowed the salty juices in his mouth, relishing that this was something that came from such a gorgeous boy, before snaking out his tongue to lap up the excess.

Harry, still breathing heavily, fell back onto the bed, boxers still around his thighs, a wide grin on his face as he started breathlessly laughing. Louis joined in, though he didn't know the circumstances, until Harry spoke.

"What just happened?"

"I made you cum." Louis smugly said, eyes glinting. "Did it feel good?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so Louis was confident in this
> 
> Sorry it wasn't full-blown sex!! Just thought that would be a bit sudden
> 
> 4400 words exactly.


	25. The Lies

"What just happened?"

"I made you cum." Louis smugly said, eyes glinting. "Did it feel good?"

Harry's ragged breaths still fanned out, looking spaced out as he gazed deeply at Louis. "Fucking incredible."

Louis was still sporting an erection beneath his clothing, biting idly on his bottom lip as he smiled smugly at Harry. He couldn't fathom how hot that had just been, and his body was still evidently recovering itself, needing some sort of relief. He still had both his underwear and jeans on, dying for Harry to touch him. He watched Harry gaze flick downwards, noting the bulge in his jeans, and a look of curiosity and lust took over his eyes.

"I've never touched another boy before, Louis."

It turned Louis on more than be could explain to think that he was helping Harry experiment with his sexuality. He was a straight boy (who thought he was undeniably straight) with a wandering mind.

"You can touch me how you'd touch yourself," Louis lowly told. Harry looked turned on, which was Louis' aim. He shifted closer to Louis on the bed, with an almost wary look in his eyes. He evidently knew that this was going to confirm his feelings for boys. He began unbuttoning Louis' jeans, fumbling with the button, eyes flicking between where his fingers pulled down the zip, and Louis' eyes.

He took no time at all to remove Louis' underwear, throwing those and the jeans to the floor.

"This shouldn't feel so weird to do, seeing as I've got a dick too." He chuckled. He reached over and encased Louis' cock in his hand, so Louis was biting his lip and Harry was curiously beginning to fist his hand up and down over Louis. "First time I've touched a boy. It's weird, for some reason."

"Must be the thought of it," Louis grunted, "But it's satisfying to give someone the pleasure."

Harry's wrist movements sped up significantly upon hearing Louis' words. He used the pad of his thumb to spread the pre-cum over the entire shaft, so a light, natural lube slicked up Louis' throbbing dick. Curiosity was still lit behind Harry's eyes as he got used to jacking Louis off the way he would himself.

"Pretty fucking hot." He breathily laughed to himself, wetting his lips. "But I think I'll stick to the hands today."

Louis would have loved Harry's plump lips around his dick, but he knew he would be taking it slowly, seeing as this was his first time with a boy. Louis was lightly thrusting into Harry's hand as the movements got faster. Harry was speedily pumping Louis' dick, mouth hanging open slightly in concentration. Louis felt so much shame in himself when he already started feeling close. Harry was just so attractive and he was touching him and Louis had been waiting for so that evening long to be touched. The way Harry looked, so lustful and concentrated, made Louis' breath hitch.

"God, I'm already close." Louis whispered, fingers gripping into the sheets beneath his bed. Harry looked smug at that, and he sped the wrist action up so much that his whole forearm was involved in bring Louis closer. He was twisting his wrist and occasionally gliding his thumb over the tip, causing Louis to let out a breathy moan that he had been suppressing.

"Yes, fucking moan for me," Harry purred, arm beginning to ache due to the speed. "I wanna hear what I'm doing to you."

Louis instantly let out the throaty whimper that he had been holding in, head bobbing back against the headboard. "Fuck." He shakily whispered.

"You gonna cum now, Lou?" Harry bit his bottom lip harder as his hand worked harder, eyes looking over Louis' face now instead of at where his hand was working over his cock.

"Yeah," Louis responded shortly, too breathless to say anymore. He felt his stomach tightening and the pleasure building up. "H-Harry."

"Cum, Louis."

Louis let go. He allowed his abdomen to jerk forwards and his toes to curl as he came, white ropes of cum spilling from him in spurts, all over Harry's hand. Louis let out a choked moan, fingernails digging into Harry's forearm, eyes rolling back slightly.

"Yeeees," Harry purred in awe, "All over my hand, you dirty fucking boy."

"Just for you." Louis breathed, followed by a sigh of a moan. "God."

"You made a mess, Lou-" Harry was cut off by a sharp, sudden knock on the bedroom door. Louis jumped in alarm, despite the haze or his post-orgasm, and Harry looked just as shocked, having thought they were home alone. Louis watched in awe as Harry's solution to the mess on his hand was to lick all of it off, sucking all of the salty cum from his skin before he whispered to Louis quickly.

"Harry, you in there, mate? You said I could just come in, remember?" Niall's voice. Louis practically had a heart attack, breathing still uneven. He desperately scrambled to lean over the bed and grab his underwear, pulling them on followed by his jeans. He shot Harry a 'what the fuck look' due to the situation.

"Uh, one second!" Harry called, after clearing his throat to rid of the deepness brought on by lust. He leant on quickly to whisper to Louis.

"I told him he could come straight up when my mum's out! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot that I told him she was out tonight!"

"Should I hide or what?" Louis breathed back, watching Harry nervously contemplating it.

"No, no, that's stupid. Just pretend we've been asleep, I dunno?" Harry hurried quietly.

"Hurry up, Harry! Damn, come on." Niall impatiently called, lightly thudding on the door. Harry fixed his slightly unruly hair before jumping up to answer the door.

"Hey, sorry." He apologised, and Louis cringed at the obvious breathlessness in his tone. Niall's eyes flicked to look at Louis as Harry let him into the room.

"Oh... Umm, hi, Louis..." He suspiciously greeted, tilting his head aside as Harry closed the door behind them. "You look a bit... zoned out."

"We've just been asleep, didn't realise how tired we were when we chose to meet up." Louis lied, although it came quite naturally and he didn't _think_ it sounded too suspicious. Niall begged to differ, watching Harry awkwardly sit on the swivel chair at his desk.

Louis felt like he wanted to crumble apart in awkwardness when he watched Niall's eyes flick down to look at the bedsheets. There was a small streak of cum across them. He looked from there, up to Louis, then to Harry.

"Well I hope you don't feel so tired anymore."

Louis hated how nervous his laugh sounded in response to what Niall had said. Harry had also noted the way Niall saw the fresh mark, but it hung unsaid in the room like a dark cloud.

"Yeah," Harry hazily smiled. "We feel better now for resting."

"Anyway, I didn't want to interrupt your... rest. I'll come back another time, yeah?" Niall was smirking. Louis wanted to disintegrate. Niall knew that something sexual had happened right before he arrived, yet no one mentioned it whatsoever.

"You can stay, it's okay," Louis quickly said, knowing it would be far more awkward for Niall to wander off now and leave things unsaid. But nor did he anybody to actually bring it up.

"Is that cum?" Niall took the step, causing tensions to rise even more in the room. Louis swallowed, probably quite visibly, and glanced at Harry for help, who did the same back to him.

"No, what?" Harry laughed, too dramatically. "You're funny, Niall. It's toothpaste, I think."

"Definitely toothpaste," Niall practically sang, with a humourless ring of sarcasm. "Anyway, I think I _will_ go. I will see you guys at school." Niall turned to the door, leaving without a further word. Harry nor Louis made an effort to stop him. They simply exchanged bewildered looks, Harry's significantly more so.

Niall knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was short, so sorry! Just trying to get back into his story with a filler chapter, and not sure where the best way to take things is with this story
> 
> Sorry if it seems rushed xx


	26. The Reputation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry and sorry again for the two month wait! If anyone is still interested, I will be regularly updating again (daily that is) as I have now got a lot of spare time on my hands. Just to note, this story hasn't got massively long left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *may contain spelling errors*

Louis was still breathing deeply, both from post-orgasm haze and the awkwardness of what had just happened with Niall. Harry was the visual representation of stressed out, having been very much found out by Niall. This was bound to smash his very much "hot straight boy" image, if Niall decided not to keep his big mouth shut.

"He didn't _specifically_ disagree that it could be toothpaste..." Louis tried, biting awkwardly on his lower lip. "Maybe we could convince him that he's being paranoid somehow?"

Harry lightly laughed at Louis, a short push of breath through his nostrils and the smallest hint of a smile, but it was clearly forced. It irritated Louis that his first (and, now, potentially last) sexual experience with Harry had been very rudely interrupted by Niall, who now had the ability to spread around to others what he'd witnessed. Louis was hoping the voice inside of himself which said that Niall would keep it a secret was true. Besides, he'd known Niall since they were young, and he seemed loyal enough -- most certainly towards Harry, despite their short time knowing each other. 

"Thanks anyway, Louis." Harry shrugged, but an awkward atmosphere had crept into the room since Niall had left. "It was good. _Really_ good. Thank you for helping me explore my sexuality."

Okay, that was very hot indeed. But then Harry continued, to Louis' dismay.

"...but..."

Louis swallowed. "But?"

"I dunno, I just..." Harry nervously scratched the back of his neck and idly spinning on the swivel chair. "I'm just not sure it's for me."

Louis breathed out a very humourless laugh, shifting slightly where he sat on Harry's bed. It felt as though his heart had been crushed, like all of his efforts were wasted.

"What do you mean it's not for you?" He coaxed, slight annoyance prominent in his tone. He didn't want to pressure Harry into being completely up for the whole 'boy on boy' life, but he couldn't help but feel slightly antagonised.

Harry shrugged again, fingers gripping around the arms of the chair by where he sat, avoiding meeting eyes with Louis. "Like... it just didn't feel... right?"

"You weren't acting like this when I was making you cum." Louis snapped. "It's because Niall might know, isn't it? He didn't specifically say he knew it was cum, maybe he was trying to tease us?"

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head at the same time. "Let's not argue now. Let's just hope he forgets about this. Come on, I think you better head home now.

Louis had really been hoping to stay longer, but now didn't feel like the right time. He nodded, grabbing his jacket from where it had been strewn down carelessly at the side of the room. They headed towards the door to Harry's room, but as they opened it, they both almost jumped out of their skin to find Niall still present, having been listening in further through the door. He stood back, with crossed arms and a smirk.

"So it is true! You like dick, Harry?"

"Niall, just fucking leave, this is none of your business," Harry hissed, clearly not in the mood for Niall's stupid games. "So, good for you, you know. Now are you going to tell everyone and lose all your friends, or are you going to shut the fuck up and forget about it? Your choice."

Niall didn't reply, looking quite surprised by Harry's sudden proclamation. He looked between the two of them before muttering under his breath, "Alright, I won't say anything. Whatever."

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turned away from the two of them and headed down the stairs, slamming the front door loudly as he left the house. 

"He's really getting on my nerves lately," Harry said, with a sigh. "Why's he got to be so intrusive about everything?"

"It's what he's always been like. Loves the drama." Louis explained, as they began walking down the stairs. "Don't let him get to you, I've managed to handle him for almost my whole life now, you'll get used to it."

"Look," Harry sighed, as they reached the hallway, stood by the front door of the house. "I'm sorry for being such a dick. It's just that... I like being straight. No - wait - that sounds so shit to say, I'm sorry, it's just--"

"Okay, okay!" Louis calmed him, using his hands to animate this. "I can see where you're coming from. But you've had this experience now, so just use it to reflect on. Just remember that you'll always be perfect, no matter what gender you're attracted to. Okay?"

Harry was staring deeply into Louis' eyes as he listened, with the smallest hint of a smile. Then, in one tender action, he leant in and placed a single kiss on Louis' lips.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

 ** _Well shit!_** Louis' stomach had erupted into endless butterflies. He was certainly not expecting that, after Harry's urges to get across his desire to stay straight. 

"Yeah, see you." Louis bit back a smile, sliding on his shoes before leaving Harry's house altogether.

He had a real good feeling about all of this. Besides Niall, of course.

* * *

"Are you serious, man?" Zayn exclaimed, the epitome of disbelief. "You got off with Harry?!"

Once again, it seemed Zayn's prime objective to embarrass Louis on their usual weekly diner visit, by speaking in an overly loud voice about yet another controversial topic. Louis could have sworn more and more people looked their way with resent each week. Maybe Zayn could get a world record for how many pairs of eyes he could attract merely from his voice.

"Why's it so normal for you to speak so loudly about weird things in here? I swear we're going to get banned." Louis hushed, a hint of humour underlying his tone. "Be quiet will you? Yes, I got off with Harry. He _cannot_ know that I told you."

"Absolutely. My lips are sealed." Zayn pacted. "Seriously though, Louis, well done to manage that! You worked your old charm, eh?"

"He was the seducer here, he always has been." Louis chuckled, reflecting on all of the things Harry had done in the past that made his head spin. "Oh, but there is one problem."

"What's that?"

"Niall knows."

Zayn's eyebrows raised significantly. "What? How does that idiot know?"

"He saw a fucking cum stain on the bed! We tried to tell him it was toothpaste, got him to leave... he was waiting outside Harry's room listening to the rest of our conversation when we found him." Louis explained in one breath. It was laughable how dramatic it sounded, put into words.

"Shit, man," Zayn laughed. "Think he'll keep it to himself?"

"I think he will for Harry's sake. Harry seems to be his leader, he's just so infatuated by him."

"I can see what you mean," Zayn caught on, slurping from his milkshake noisily. "He bought a pair of Chelsea boots yesterday."

"Really? Can't picture him in _them_." Louis rolled his eyes. "Hopefully he doesn't go any further to be like Harry."

"Hopefully not, otherwise you'd have to get off with him _too_." Zayn wiggled his eyebrows, and was met with a chip to the face, thrown by Louis in protest. "Too soon? Sorry, man."

"You should be. Dick." Louis muttered.

There was a reflective silence, as they sipped their milkshakes, and Louis began to wonder what Zayn was thinking about all of this. He had always been insanely supportive over anything Louis did regarding his love life, yet Louis couldn't help but wonder whether this was weird because Harry was their close friend. He didn't want Zayn to view Harry any differently.

"What are you... thinking?" Louis hesitantly asked, yet Zayn had a very doe-eyed, happy look on his face (as usual.) Zayn lightly shook his head and laughed to himself, lowering his head slightly. "What?" Louis grinned.

"I was just wondering, like, you know Harry's so perfect to everyone?"

Louis was really worried that Zayn was about to put him in down by mentioning how out of his league Harry was, but he should have known his stupid best friend's brain didn't work like that.

"Yeah?"

"Has he got a big dick too?" Zayn questioned, a smirk curling into his face. Louis gawped at him with a stark laugh. "Like, no homo! It's just he makes me feel so insecure sometimes, just wanted to know whether he's perfect down there too."

"Zayn, you have no reason to be insecure." Louis assured, telling the pure truth. "You could _easily_ get any girl you want."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yes, it's big." Louis very speedily added, watching Zayn roll his eyes humorously.

"Should have known, shouldn't I? Seriously, that kid could turn lesbians and straight boys." Zayn kidded. Louis laughed, and suddenly he felt very proud to be linked to Harry. 

Harry was purely perfect.

* * *

Louis walked with Liam over the field towards the school, feeling slightly bad that, once again, Liam was in the dark about everything that had happened. In fact, Louis was sure Liam was yet to find out about the outcome of the Lily Henderson account. He didn't seem too bothered though, he was a very present sort of guy.

Louis was honestly not looking forward to attending school. He was looking forward to seeing Harry, and they did have an English lesson, but he just wished Niall wouldn't turn up.

Of course, he did.

He gave Louis a cheeky smirk upon arrival, which almost distracted Louis from the fact that Niall was wearing the Chelsea boots that Zayn had said he'd bought. They looked very mistakenly like a pair Harry would wear...

But Harry, obviously, looked better in them, in Louis' opinion, because he was Harry. He dressed well for school every day, pairing today's outfit with black Chelsea boots.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=103v29l)

"Morning, guys." Zayn greeted, leaning casually against a fence with Harry and Niall. "How are we doing?"

Louis and Harry were holding very powerful eye contact, in their own temporary world, as Zayn and Liam conversed. 

"I'm exhausted," Liam chuckled, "Was helping my mum tidy the house up all evening."

"Cute." Niall mockingly interjected, and Louis looked his way to see that he was eyeing Harry and Louis, his versatile statement clearly aimed towards the staring, but being masked by aiming it at Liam's sweet act. "What were you doing yesterday evening, Louis?"

Louis saw Zayn roll his eyes with a stupid smile on his face, whereas sweet, little Liam was smiling in await of hearing about Louis' evening. He was the purest thing.

"Can't actually remember." He shrugged, eyeing Harry again, who looked slightly more awkward now. Louis changed the subject fast by asking about their science homework.

* * *

A strong wave of possession shouldn't have hit Louis so intensely when he saw Harry speaking to Lucy, the snobby, popular girl from their class. But the way he was stood almost _too_ close to her, boxing her against the wall in the corridor and leaning on said wall with his forearm, made Louis' insides twist in jealousy. Why was Harry speaking to _her_? If his memory served him right, he remembered 'rescuing' Harry from Lucy, back when he was more new to the school, so why now did Harry want to speak to her in such close proximity?

Louis really hoped that this wasn't going to be a regular occurrence: Harry flirting with random girls in their class to excuse what he and Louis did. It was damn stupid, even if Harry was still working himself out.

Zayn had approached Louis from behind without him even noticing, meaning when he lay his hand on Louis' shoulder, he almost spurred a heart attack.

"What's he talking to Lucy for?" He muttered in Louis' ear, too watching the interaction from afar with a furrowed brow. "He shouldn't get too close, he might catch an STD."

Louis loudly stifled a laugh, shaking his head. "Zayn, you are hilarious."

"Let me just stop this interaction for you." Zayn left not much warning before casually strolling towards Harry and Lucy, meaning Louis sprang into action to jump over to his locker, open it and pretend to be aimlessly looking in it, instead of gawping from afar. He watched from behind the locker door at the interaction, Zayn's hand clasped on Harry's forearm and tugging him away while saying something to Lucy. A moment later, a sad Lucy was rejoining her friends, who were in fits of giggles, while Harry was heading Louis' way with Zayn.

Louis grabbed his English book from his locker before shutting it, acting as though he had just registered their arrival. He gave Harry a stern nod as a greeting, and Harry smirked in response.

Was Harry's interaction with Lucy an attempt to make Louis _jealous_ , or was it to keep up his straight reputation? Either way, it was pretty shit. And Louis could almost guarantee that Harry would become a whole different person when he and Louis were next alone. Now was a case of masking his sexuality in public.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any requests for small things you'd like to see happen?  
> Comment them below xx


	27. The Jealousy

When sat in their English class, Louis was dying to ask Harry what he was doing talking to somebody like Lucy. But then again, he didn't want to appear too _possessive_ over Harry, considering they technically weren't together... despite the fact that Harry had kissed Louis just before he left his house. Now if that didn't throw Louis' judgements off-track, he didn't know what could.

Ten minutes into the lesson, Lucy twisted around in her chair from the front of the room, sending Harry an attempted smirk. This ended up appearing more as a lopsided grin, too forced, and Louis really wanted to give her the middle finger. Harry should back a successful smirk, and that was it now, Louis had one do something. He simply cleared his throat, however it came out louder and more deliberate than he had intended. Harry whipped his head around to look at Louis squarely.

"Are you alright?" He queried. 

Louis kept his gaze trained forwards. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Harry shrugged, although guilt seemed to be radiating from him. He knew why Louis seemed pissed yet he wanted to remain oblivious. Despite this, he still went on to non-verbally communicate with Lucy across the room, powerfully gazing at one another but miming no words. Louis linked eyes across the room with Zayn, who seemed to be just as disgusted by the interaction. He pulled out his phone and gestured for Louis to text him.

 **Zayn:** _Fuck they staring at each other for?? That's so shit of him when you're sat right there._

Louis made sure Harry wasn't looking at his screen before replying.

 **Louis:** _It's pretty shit. But then again, who said Harry's dating me? Maybe he's more casual with love than I thought:(_

He watched Zayn's eyes scanning over his phone screen, before his thumbs began typing away at the screen again.

 **Zayn:** _Well we can see about that. You and me are going to do a bit of flirting again at lunch._

Louis glanced upwards to look at Zayn again, who dropped a swift wink (that admittedly did make Louis swoon a little on the inside. Not because he liked Zayn in that way, just that he was a very attractive guy and made winking very sexy.) Harry hadn't seen the wink, having been too busy making heart eyes at Lucy, but Louis knew he and Zayn had this one in the bag.

Hopefully.

* * *

When lunchtime came around - surprise, surprise - Harry spoke to Lucy again in the corridor. And again - surprise, surprise - Lucy's friends were hanging around nearby, attempting to hear anything being exchanged between Harry and Lucy, giggling to themselves in the process. It was ridiculous how Louis, Liam, Zayn _and_ Niall all had to wait for Harry, stupidly lingering nearby until he decided he was done speaking to her. Louis wanted nothing more than to strut over there and slap Lucy around the face (and maybe Harry too.)

When Harry was finally done, Louis' heart sank to see him end their interaction with a wink. It only made Louis crave making him jealous even more, and he could see that Zayn had the same idea in mind. They all headed onto the field, after a mutual agreement to sit out there in the temporarily bright sunshine, and settled down under the usual large oak tree.

"So..." Niall filled the silence, while Harry hazily smiled, Louis and Zayn internally schemed, and Liam was observant and smiley as usual. "Harry, what's going on with your love life, then?"

Harry visibly tensed. Poor Liam, again unaware, was the epitome of confusion, and Niall eyed Louis mischievously.

"What's it to you?" Harry snobbily remarked, with a slight hint of a smirk. He glanced at Louis very briefly before returning his gaze to Niall.

"You know what." Niall wiggled his eyebrows, causing Harry to roll his eyes, non-verbally screaming 'shut the hell up!' Louis really wanted this bullshit to end, Harry's ridiculous efforts to remain as straight as visually possible. Louis wanted to disintegrate. He wanted to question Harry why he was being so inconsiderate.

"It's my life, I'll keep it a secret, thank you very much." Harry smugly informed him, crossing his arms in indifference. Louis saw Zayn get his phone out in the corner of his eye, so he subtly did the same.

 **Zayn:** _He is such a dick._

 **Louis:** _ikr :/ what we gonna do?_

 **Zayn:** _We are going to wait until they're next talking in he corridor then we will riiiiise_

 **Louis:** _You are so dramatic zayn_

 **Zayn:** _Well I got a lot planned. You'll see._

Louis was slightly concerned now, in an amused way.

* * *

Inevitably, Harry found Lucy in the corridor once again, before their final lesson: maths. The most painful thing about this interaction in particular, was the way in which Harry gazed openly at Louis before leaning ever closer to Lucy. It was a blatant act to induce jealousy; so very obvious. Niall and Liam weren't around, currently speaking to their biology teacher about a project they were working on, so just Louis and Zayn were having to witness Harry's unruly flirting.

Harry knew Louis was occasionally looking his way, so he leant in even closer to Lucy, so their abdomens were almost completely pressed together. Zayn immediately shifted closer to Louis, causing the latter to chuckle quietly to himself.

"Two can play at that game, Styles." He whispered to Louis.

Harry had seen the way Zayn and Louis shifted closer to one another. He challenged this by tucking a strand of Lucy's hair behind her ear, very delicately, before his eyes flicked back in Louis and Zayn's direction. Zayn looked pissed at that, turning to Louis before very irrationally glancing over his face.

"Ah, fuck it." He muttered, before he very spontaneously attached his lips to Louis'. Louis' eyes were wide open for a second of shock, heart almost exploding in his chest, before he let them flutter shut as he began to kiss Zayn in return. It wasn't a staged movie kiss, where one person kisses the others bottom lip - no. This was real. Full-frontal making out. Louis couldn't believe what the fuck was going on, but allowed Zayn to push him against the wall and continue the kiss, rather passionately for a faked kiss.

Louis could hear acknowledgment from everyone around them, whooping and hollering at them, and he had no idea why the kiss had gone on for so long but now Zayn had slipped his tongue into Louis' mouth, very slowly making out with him, and Louis was really wondering whether he was dreaming.

Zayn ended the kiss by biting seductively on Louis' bottom lip as they pulled apart, and Louis was glassy eyed and panting, eyes wide, as he looked at Zayn.

"I'll apologise later." Zayn hurriedly whispered. They looked in Harry's direction to find him stood a metre or so away from Lucy now, jaw locked in annoyance and eyebrows furrowed. When he linked eyes with Louis, he stormed away, down the corridor and away from Lucy. Away from Louis and Zayn.

"Shit, we took it too far." Zayn breathed, glancing at Louis. Louis was still trying out recover from the kiss, pulse still heavy, and Zayn had only just realised he hadn't yet released him from being held against the wall. "Oh, sorry."

Zayn awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, looking around to find everybody's eyes on them, mouths agape.

"Well this is awkward." He loudly announced. Zayn was definitely too cool to be judged for kissing Louis, so everybody seemed to go about their lives again when Zayn had spoken.

Something deep inside Louis was glad Harry got so intensely jealous. And something else deep inside him was so fucking turned on by Zayn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it was short.
> 
> Something about writing that Louis/Zayn scene made me gush, oh man *-*


	28. The Divisions

Louis was still trying to recover from how fucking hot kissing Zayn was, to concentrate instead of the fact that Harry had stormed off rather dramatically down the corridor. He linked eyes with Zayn - the most awkward eye contact they had ever made (during their many, many years of friendship) considering what had just happened. Zayn simply grinned.

"Better than Harry, huh?" He winked at Louis. Louis hated how cocky Zayn was. It had been an incredible kiss.

"Shut it, you dick. We should go after Harry, come on." Louis started heading the way Harry had gone, but was stopped when Zayn grabbed his arm quickly.

"No, we absolutely shouldn't!" He theorised. "He wants you to. You didn't storm off when he was with Lucy." He lowered the volume of his voice when mentioning her name, considering she was still stood across the corridor, discussing hurriedly with her friends what had just happened. He shrugged childishly at Zayn, glancing longingly down the corridor, dying to go and find Harry. He felt awful. Maybe he shouldn't have, as Zayn had told him not to, but he had always been an empathetic person. It was how he had been raised.

He noticed that Lucy and her friends were giggling at he and Zayn, discussing in an thrilled hush, then Louis noticed one of them, Nicole, being excitedly pushed by her friends towards he and Zayn. 

"Guys, can you kiss again? That was really hot." She rushed, before running back over to her friends, each of them in fits of laughter. A petty dare, Louis supposed. He felt his cheeks heating up, making brief eye contact with a flustered Zayn before looking away again.

"Sorry for doing that so suddenly, by the way," Zayn apologised, scratching his arm. "Probably should have warned you."

"You're a good kisser." 

Louis realised, after saying this, that it only managed to maximise the awkwardness evermore. He wished he could take it back, but it was too late, and Zayn's response to it was yet another bloody wink. Why did Louis suddenly feel that Zayn had become about a thousand times hotter after making out with him? It wasn't good. It _really_ wasn't good.

"I'll at least _text_ Harry." He moved the tense conversation on, pulling out his phone so he could have an excuse to look away from his childhood best friend. "It seems a bit inconsiderate to just ignore him, doesn't it?"

"Whatever, man." Zayn shrugged, just as their teacher arrived, welcoming the students and unlocking the classroom door. Louis walked into the classroom with his peers as he typed.

 **Louis:** _Hey Harry, I'm really concerned that you left so suddenly. Everything OK?_

He obviously knew why: Harry's jealousy had gotten the best of him. It was crazy to think that the boy Louis had been so infatuated by since he'd joined, was jealous because Louis had kissed Zayn. Oh, how times changed. Louis took a seat in his usual space as Harry's reply came through.

 **Harry:** _Yes, I am totally fine Louis._

That sounded... very sarcastic.

 **Louis:** _Look, I got upset that you kept talking to Lucy, that's all, I get jealous. Zayn took it too far, I didn't plan for that to happen._

It was the truth, wasn't it?

Louis could still taste Zayn's mouth. A natural sweetness, induced from the apple juice Zayn had drank at lunch, mixed with a slight tinge of cigarettes. There was something very sexy about it. He glanced across the room at Zayn, who was scrawling down the title from the whiteboard into his notebook, actually engaging in the lesson (which Louis should have been.) Instead, he was diverting his gaze between Zayn and his phone, which was hidden beneath the table.

 **Harry:** _Well I'm sorry Louis but people in school need to see me as the same person I was before. If I'm seem with girls then obviously I haven't changed much._

That sounded an awful lot like Harry was dissing himself, calling himself a womaniser. It wasn't true; he had never been keen on hanging around girls, even before he and Louis were more... _romantically connected?_

 **Louis:** _You don't have to always be around girls Harry. Just be yourself_

Louis locked his phone, and his eyes wandered over to Zayn again, who was nibbling on his lower lip slightly in concentration as he listened to their teacher. The way he had bitten Louis' lip during the kiss was so fucking _hot;_ Louis would never forget that. Zayn seemed to sense a pair of eyes on him, as a moment later, he glanced upwards through those long, dark lashes, giving Louis a playful 'what-are-you-looking-at' look. Louis simply smiled slightly in response, shrugging lightly before pulling a pen and notepad out of his bag.

Shit, why did he keep wanting to look at Zayn? It wasn't even like he had seen Zayn as being sexually attractive before, having known him since they could first walk, yet now Zayn gave off such an alluring aura. Was it Louis' inner guidance wanting to make Harry even more jealous, by genuinely producing feelings for Zayn?

Louis couldn't produce feelings for Zayn! He was his best mate! It would be the most awkward thing he could do!

He tore his eyes away from Zayn, finally trying to concentrate on the lesson.

* * *

Louis met Liam in the school car park when school had finished, glad to be walking home with someone so generally oblivious of the drama that went on around him. He was always smiley and upbeat, despite anything that went on in their group of friends.

But even Liam mentioned Harry, as he and Louis cut through the park.

"I saw Harry crying on the field earlier." He informed, and Louis felt such a strong pang of guilt in his heart. Louis nonchalantly kicked a rock across the grass as he replied.

"Oh? Do you know why?"

He was dreading a reply.

"He didn't tell me. Told me not to worry about it."

So it was most likely about what Louis had done. He couldn't feel more mentally shit about this.

"I hope he's okay." Louis was really thinking out loud, considering he really did want Harry to be okay. Why hadn't he thought about Harry's mental state already? He was on fucking antidepressants, for crying out loud! He probably peaked Harry's negative thoughts.

He decided he would quickly text Harry, without Liam's attention, just to be safe.

 **Louis:** _I really sincerely apologise Harry. If you need to talk to me about anything then I will listen xx_

Harry's reply came when Louis had gotten into his bedroom, after reaching his home.

 **Harry:** _I can't talk to anybody. Not anymore._

Oh... was that a dig at Louis about the Lily Henderson account? Louis felt like it was. He knew he had to mention the elephant in the room: the fact that Harry could still trust him.

 **Louis:** _I'm still the same person as I was while using that dumb account. I still care about you a hell of a lot, don't forget that Harry xx_

 **Harry:** _It doesn't feel the same. I'm sorry for kissing you again before you left my house too. I shouldn't have done that. But then again, Zayn kissed you too so maybe you'll fall in love with him instead._

Okay, what? If Harry was apologising for kissing Louis and acting indifferent to the concept of a relationship with Louis, then why did he strike Louis as being jealous? He had stormed off and was seen by Liam crying. Harry was confusing.

 **Louis:** _So now you didn't mean to kiss me? Harry, I'm not going to fucking fall in love with Zayn. I've always liked you xx_

It was quite a risky text. He was effectively opening himself up to getting a broken heart. All Harry had to say to destroy Louis was say he didn't love him back.

But Louis would never know, because Harry didn't reply.

* * *

Zayn was still thinking about the kiss as much as Louis was. Louis found this out when he had showered, and returned to his phone to find an apologetic Facebook message about the earlier incident.

 **Zayn Malik:** _Sorry again for kissing you mate._

Louis would call it more _making out_ than kissing. Zayn certainly didn't have to slip his tongue into Louis' mouth, _or_ push him up against the wall.

Maybe Zayn liked being a bit rough and in charge.

Louis felt his stomach dip in arousal. He had ultimately uncovered this without much intent: Zayn was dominant. Maybe. Probably. Wow.

 _Think about Harry, Louis. Think about Harry. Don't think about you, Zayn_ and _Harry._ Great, now Louis was thinking about Harry and Zayn at the same time. This was messing with his feelings so fucking much.

He decided he would respond quite riskily. No text saying it was okay would be exciting enough right now.

 **Louis Tomlinson:** _Didn't have to involve tongue though, did you? ;)_

He had intended to use the winking face of lighten the situation, however he realised once he had sent it that it would perhaps be interpreted as flirting. He still didn't make an effort to correct it, waiting with a smug smile when he saw Zayn typing.

 **Zayn Malik:** _I just wanted to make it a bit exciting Tommo ;)_

Oh no. Louis was so deeply turned on by that.

 **Louis Tomlinson:** _And pushing me against that wall. Got a bit excited yeah?_

Why did it feel like he was sexting Zayn now? And why did it turn him on so much? Why wasn't he thinking about Harry instead?

 **Zayn Malik:** _I haven't had a girlfriend in years Louis, I've got a lot of sexual frustration_

Louis' breath hitched and his eyes widened because _what?!_ Were his eyes deceiving him? He was absolutely staggered, unable to comprehend a reply to that. It felt as though Zayn had turned the whole conversation around entirely, turning it from playful and stupid to genuinely sexual.

 **Louis Tomlinson:** _Well I'm lucky to have experienced some of the godlike Zayn Malik's sexual frustration._

Was that too upfront? He figured using the word 'godlike' to describe Zayn would water it down a bit, but when Zayn's reply came through, it all went down the drain.

 **Zayn Malik:** _Well there's a lot more where that came from_

Louis must have stared at his screen for at least a minute, in absolute disbelief and awe. How had just a simple kiss (well, maybe not so simple) caused so much... tension?

The thoughts Louis was getting about how frantically passionate and fast-paced Zayn would be during sex made him shiver. He had left 3 minutes since Zayn had sent the message. Before he did have the chance to reply, Zayn sent another message.

 **Zayn Malik:** _Wait, we are joking right?_

Well played, Zayn. Playing it off like the whole time it was all a joke. He decided to play along, to save the awkwardness.

 **Louis Tomlinson:** _Yes Zayn, it's obviously a joke._

Yeeeah, Louis wasn't joking.

* * *

Harry's beautiful eyes had dark rings beneath them when he arrived in school the next day, and he was wearing all black (opposed to his usual quirky shirts.) He had made no effort to style his hair, leaving it unruly and messy. This was an immediate worry to Louis, upon arrival. Harry had visibly had a rough night.

His eyes dipped down to look at the floor when he made eye contact with Louis, so Louis didn't bother trying to get him to open up.

It was just as awkward with Zayn, whose eyes performed the same act of looking away when they met Louis'. Louis felt too awkward to speak to two of his friends. Well, maybe three, as he and Niall hadn't been on fantastic terms for a while now.

Liam was like a godsend for today, so Louis mainly lingered around him. In Louis' life now, it was like everything had just become so difficult. What he did know was that, yes, he was quite sexually attracted to Zayn, but not around wholly attracted as he was to Harry Styles. He was the usual occurrence within Louis' mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic is gradually starting to draw to a close now. I know it hasn't been very long, but this kind of narrative cannot be dragged out for too long.
> 
> Sad Harry :( Louis could cure him?


	29. The Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took 10 days to update! Hope this is okay.

Louis was pretty stuck at this point. He was currently friends with an emotionally distressed Harry, a sexually frustrated Zayn, a quizzical Niall, and a gorgeously unaware Liam. He cared most about Harry at the moment, of the four, knowing that he was having a really difficult time determining his sexuality for sure; he knew that he liked Louis, but what was bothering him was everybody else knowing. He was very much closeted.

Throughout the day, Harry's eyeline remained at ground level. If ever he met Louis' gaze, he almost gave a hopeful smile, but it usually failed. Louis wished Harry could have it easier, coming to terms with his sexuality. He still wanted to be the hot, desired straight boy that everybody had always believed he was, since he joined the school.

"Do you think Harry is depressed?" Zayn suggested, as he, Louis and Liam walked through the park on their way home from another gruelling schoolday. Yes, Harry was, but Louis didn't see it his responsibility to tell them that he knew this from snooping through Harry's bathroom cabinet. It was plain as day now, Harry's depression, and Louis hated it. Not that he would rather Harry hide it, he just wanted him to be completely happy.

"Maybe." Louis answered, stuffing his hands into his pockets as the biting wind picked up all of a sudden, chilling him to the core. "Seems like it."

He held himself responsible for Harry's sadness; he just hoped his friends didn't too. Obviously, only Niall and Zayn had any idea about Harry's changing perspective on his sexuality, but Liam could still link Harry's provoked depression to Louis messing around with him, online and such (although he was still pretty much in the dark about it.) Zayn would know Louis was involved nonetheless.

"Bless him," Liam frowned. "I hate seeing people sad, especially somebody as bright and positive as Harry."

It had always been a front he had put on though. Harry wasn't positive in his head.

"How could we help him?" Zayn wondered, and at that moment looked up and linked eyes with Louis, a powerful eye contact that made the latter look away, flustered. Zayn's gaze possessed a power over Louis.

"Well, if I'm going to be honest with you," Louis began, more directed to Liam, "I think we need to help him come to terms with who he really is, for others to know too."

"What do you mean?" Liam interjected, as they left the park and started walking up the street instead. "Like... is he gay, or something?"

"He's at least bisexual." Zayn let Liam know. "Louis could confirm that, couldn't you, bud?"

"Shut up, Zayn, seriously." Louis laughed, despite the fierceness in his tone, shooting a glare at him.

"Wait, did you and Harry have sex?"

Louis blurted out a laugh, shocked by Liam's sudden speculation.

"No, Liam, no... it wasn't that intense."

"Oh, sorry." Liam blushed, embarrassed that he had so forwardly suggested it. "So, like, a kiss?"

"They made each other cum, didn't you, Louis?" Zayn's tone was slightly taunting, but held a stern tinge behind it. Louis didn't bother to scold him this time.

"That's besides the point. What I'm saying is, Harry is really struggling, and we need to help him understand that it's okay to feel the way he does." Louis ranted, smiling softly to himself. "He's hidden behind this for too long, it'll just make his depression worse."

"How do you know he had it _before_ the 'gay feelings'?" Zayn picked up, creasing his eyebrows at Louis.

"I came across some pills while looking for soap in his house. I didn't mean to." Louis decided to get it out there, tired of lying his way around things. "So this is no mild depression, this is something that he uses medication for."

They all unanimously decided to take a seat on a bench on the pavement beside the busy main road, not yet ready to head into their houses and finish the conversation. Liam and Zayn were deep in thought, and the former spoke first.

"I can't believe we didn't pick up on it, I feel awful. Any little thing we said to make him feel bad, it probably made it even _worse._ " He worried, nervously wringing his hands. "What if I offended him without meaning to?"

"Liam, stop fussing," Zayn cut in, steadily placing his hand on his friend's forearm. "I can assure you, we never did anything to... well, you and I never did anything to-"

"Way to make a dig at me, Zayn." Louis sighed, rolling his eyes. "I already feel shit about this, I don't need you pointing out that I've been bad to him. I already know that." "Do you think it's because we kissed?" Zayn blurted out. Liam's eyes widened. "You what?" "Zayn, shut up, will you!" 

"Let's not start an argument now, explain later. Let's decide what we're going to do about Harry. How can we support Harry?" Liam resolved maturely. "Do we add him to a group chat and all send a caring message? I dunno..."

"And say what? 'Sorry you're gay, we hope you feel better about it soon'?" Zayn mocked. Louis once again rolled his eyes.

"Zayn, I think he means more... letting Harry know that we will always care about him, no matter what. I mean, you guys still like me, despite my sexuality."

"We don't." Liam and Zayn joked at once, so Louis pouted and pretended for be briefly mad, before giving it up and focusing back on their objective.

"Would that be a good idea then?"

"Sure. I'll make a Facebook chat." Liam informed, pulling out his phone. Louis really didn't want this to be the approach they took, however something had to be done, and it was too awkward saying anything in person. He knew that this would mean Harry would find out that he had told others about their sexual encounter, but hopefully he would forgive him. In time.

**Liam added you to the chat "Laaads"**

"Really great name, Liam." Louis chuckled, when he had checked. "What are we putting?"

 **Niall Horan:** _?????_

"Niall's already ruined it." Zayn chuckled. "Or maybe made it less awkward by talking first. What are we putting?"

"Let me handle this." Louis pulled up his phone's keyboard and began spontaneously typing. He proof read it before pressing send.

 **Louis:** _Harry, we just wanted to let you know that we have noticed how sad and reclusive you're being and want you to know that we are all here for you, no matter what._

"That's sweet." Liam smiled. "Let me add to it.

 **Liam Payne:** _We always will support you forever. No matter what you are going through please never bottle anything up and know that we will always listen:)_

"We're so nice." Louis smirked. "He deserves this, though."

 **Niall Horan:** _I'm gonna jump on this bandwagon and say same hazza!!_

"Niall's getting involved, good."

 **Zayn Malik:** _Always. We love you mate._

"Harry's read it," Louis informed, feeling as though his breath had caught in his throat. "I'm genuinely nervous, why am I nervous?"

"He's typing."

Louis watched as Harry was typing, then he stopped. Then he was typing again. It took a couple if minutes to get a reply, and when it came through, Louis felt like his blood ran cold all of a sudden.

 **Harry Styles:** _Thank you guys. But sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes the world isn't enough. I'm so so sorry :( All the love, bye .xx_

"What?" Liam whispered, after the silence during which they each read over the message. Louis could feel his heartbeat thudding in his head, fingers clasping tightly around his phone.

"What's he implying?" There was an evident shake in his tone when he tried to speak. "He isn't..."

"Is he going to kill himself?" Zayn said those dreaded words, and the moment he did, Louis sprang up from the bench. He immediately took off running, phone in hand, hearing Zayn and Liam yelling behind him to slow down. He didn't. He headed hastily down the road, in the direction of Harry's house, cold air making his throat raw and hair streaming back behind him.

 _"Louis!"_ Liam's voice barely carried at such a distance, far behind Louis as he continued the pace. He took six minutes to reach Harry's house. His car was carelessly parked on the driveway, as though he hadn't cared how it was left now, and there was no sign of Anne's car anywhere. Louis pounded with his fists on the wood of the front door the moment he reached it. Just ten seconds without an answer was enough for him to be entering the house without permission, slamming the door behind him and running up the stairs.

"Harry?" He called out, voice carrying through the empty house. "Please tell me where you are. It's Louis."

No answer.

"Harry, you're scaring me!" Louis called out again, when he had reached the top of the stairs. He approached Harry's bedroom door, holding his ear to the cold wood. Silence inside. He knocked, repeating Harry's name again. Silence.

He opened the door, slowly, hearing it creak on its hinges. It revealed an empty room, tidy and spotless. He shakily exhaled, turning to the hallway once again.

"Harry, come on, _please._ "

Then, he heard the smallest breathy sob, coming from the direction of the bathroom. He jogged across the hallway, testing the doorhandle. It was locked. He thudded a hand on the door, frantically.

"Harry, open this door." He softly commanded, wanting to stay calm, despite his heart hammering blood through his veins.

"N-No, Louis." Harry's voice was weak, the weakest Louis had ever heard it, and was full of sadness.

"Harry, I am begging you, open this door." He was more demanding now, continuing to knock on he door loudly. "We can talk, please."

"I'm done talking," Harry piped. His voice was eerily quiet and soft. "I'm really sorry for confusing you these past few weeks."

"Open the door, I want to see you, I want to make sure you're okay, _please._." Louis' voice cracked on the final word as he broke into heavy tears, the panic ensuing as he realised that Harry could refuse to open that door altogether until it was too late.

"Louis, I have dealt with this for long enough now, I'm so _tired,_ I just want to sleep."

"No," Louis cried out. "Let me in!"

"Leave, Louis!" Harry's voice came out louder now, shocking Louis. "I'm not opening the door. Go home."

"I love you."

Louis held his breath, having blurted this out suddenly. It was his last shot, he didn't know what else could be said or done now. There was a heavy silence. Louis felt like he couldn't breathe, but he knew that it was true: he did love Harry. He had for a while now.

"No you don't." Was Harry's prolonged response.

"I do," Louis assured, "believe I, I do. I'm so madly in love with you."

Another silence. Louis could hear movement from inside the bathroom, and then the door was being unlocked. There stood Harry, eyes empty with dark rings beneath them, a prominent frown, hair carelessly pushed back over his head. Louis felt his breath catch when he peered behind Harry, to find five pill bottles, with all lids open, along the edge of the bath.

"You love _me_ , Louis?" Harry shook his head, pointing at himself. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Don't hurt yourself, Harry." Louis approached him, gently placing a hand on his. "You haven't taken any, have you? Please don't tell me you have." He referenced to the many pills in those pots.

"I haven't done anything. You got here before I could." Harry steadily said, visibly swallowing, his throat having sounded dry. "But I want to."

"There's so much more to your life, Harry. You're so young, you need to put things into perspective a bit more."

"I'm always letting myself down," Harry shook his head. "And it probably looked like I was leading you on not too long ago, I'm just so confused."

"You'll work yourself out, and the rest of your life will work itself out. Your future is going to be bright, Harry, I want you to see that."

Harry gripped tighter on Louis' hand, before he suddenly pulled Louis into the bathroom, locking the door behind them. Louis furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"I want you to tip all of those pills down the toilet. Do it quickly, before I change my mind." Harry turned away from Louis while pointing at the pills. Louis rushed to grab two of the pill bottles, which were full to the brim with different shapes and sizes of pills, not hesitating to pour the contents into the toilet. He grabbed the other three bottles, doing the same, before throwing the five empty containers into the bin. He then turned to Harry, who was facing him again now. He was visibly shaking.

"Well done, Harry." Louis smiled softly.

"Thank you, Louis."

"I do love you, though, by the way." Louis looked Harry directly in the eye as he said it. "I know we've been through a lot, you and I, but I-"

"Come here." Harry instructed. Louis, full of confusion, stepped closer to Harry.

Harry pulled Louis in and began to kiss him, slowly. Louis felt like fireworks erupted in his stomach, as his lips moved against Harry's with so much passion. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket, inevitably his three friends, but he ignored it and focused on the sweet taste of Harry's lips.

Harry broke the kiss then, staring deeply into Louis' eyes. "I love you too, Louis. You just saved my life, you know that?" Then he was kissing Louis once again, harder this time, faster. Louis sighed a moan into the kiss, arms tightly around the back of Harry's neck, body pressed to his. The kiss was erratic and frantic, lips messily moving together, an expression of built up passion, and Harry pushed Louis against the bathroom door as the kiss deepened and their tongues found each other's.

Harry's hands began tugging at the hem of Louis' t-shirt suddenly, trying to urge it upwards. Louis reluctantly broke the kiss, lifting his t-shirt off before doing the same with Harry's, and they pressed their naked torsos together as their kiss continued. Louis couldn't control how fast his heart was beating, and he could feel Harry's beating just as fast against his chest.

Harry pulled Louis from the doorway and lowered him down to the floor, climbing above him as the kiss continued, Louis' back coming into contact with the cold bathroom tiles. He ran his hands down the hot expanse of Harry's back, fingernails grazing the soft skin. Harry bit down on his lip into the kiss, causing Louis to grin.

"Jeans off, Louis." He whispered into his ear, so a dense shiver ran down Louis' spine. Louis happily complied, reaching down to unbutton his jeans as Harry pulled off his own belt and did the same with his. Louis awkwardly shimmied out of his jeans from his lying position, as Harry knelt above him and pulled off his tight jeans. Then he was above Louis again, thighs pressed against his.

"I can't believe I was going to leave you." He breathed, knowing any volume higher would shatter the moment. "You're so fucking perfect, Oh my God."

Louis' grin could have torn his face in two, it was that wide.

"Says you."

"I'm going to make love to you, if that's okay." Harry smiled, rather nervously, and Louis' heart skipped a beat.

"You don't even have to ask."

Harry resumed the making out, one hand tangled in Louis' hair and the other planted stably on the floor as he began slowly grinding down against Louis. Louis moaned heavily into the kiss, so it vibrated against Harry's lips.

Harry broke the kiss and rested their foreheads together. "That feel good, Lou?"

"Amazing." Louis breathed, eyes not leaving Harry's. Harry added more friction beneath their lower halves, rotating his hips slowly, and Louis' head fell back against the floor in bliss.

"I need more. Need you to fuck me." He whispered, biting his lower lip as Harry continued grinding down against him. Louis could feel that they were both hard already, the tension having already gotten to them, and he needed the relief. He needed _Harry._

"Lie on your stomach, Louis."

Harry knelt again and allowed Louis to turn over, so he was lying against the uncomfortable floor, his head turned to the side so his left cheek was resting on his folded arms. He could hear Harry removing his underwear, before his fingers hooked beneath Louis' and he slowly pulled them down. He deeply groaned in arousal at the sight of Louis.

"Fuck yes." He breathed, running a hand firmly over one plump cheek of Louis' arse. Louis felt himself shiver.

"You know I've always loved your arse, don't you?" Harry's voice was low, taunting, so Louis felt his dick straining even more against the cold flooring.

"Yeah." Was the only response he could muster. He felt Harry's hand take one cheek in each hand, spreading Louis open.

"You look so tight, Louis."

"Need you inside me."

He suddenly jolted as Harry spat on his hole, some temporary lubrication, and spread it around with the pad of his thumb. Louis held his breath.

"I better open you up, huh?" Harry purred. Louis was in too much bliss to even respond, however he tensed when he felt Harry's breath fanning against his hole then. He shut his eyes as Harry licked a long, fat streak over his entrance. He hummed out a moan in response, eyes clenching shut as Harry began lapping over his hole.

"Oh, my God." Was all he could let out. Harry slowly moved his tongue around Louis' hole, spreading him open with his hands so he could stick his tongue in partway. Louis had fingernail indents in his forearms from where he gripped into them. Harry was moving too slowly for his liking. He reached back and cupped the back of Harry's head, pushing him further in, earning an appreciative moan from Harry as his movements became faster, tongue thrusting in and out of Louis at a faster pace, one index finger squeezing in alongside it. Louis was writhing beneath Harry, unable to get enough of the feeling.

"Just fuck me now, _please._ " He whispered, euphorically. "Please."

Harry pulled back, leaving Louis empty again, and spat in his palm before coating it over his achingly hard cock. He then allowed a string of spit to drop from his mouth, onto Louis' entrance, and Louis waited rather impatiently with his head on his arms. He sucked in a harsh breath as Harry lowered down on top of him, rubbing his dick slowly against Louis' entrance, teasing him.

"Please." Louis repeated, for what felt like the one millionth time now. "Fuck me, Harry."

Harry pressed his thighs against the back of Louis', holding his top half up with his hand planted firmly on the floor, continuing to tease Louis anyway by slowly moving his dick against his arse. Louis released a long, strained whimper of impatience, moving his bum back against Harry.

"You want this dick, don't you, Louis?"

"Give it to me, Harry."

Harry pressed the head against Louis' entrance, using one hand to guide it inside, slowly. Louis' mouth dropped open, breath hitching as Harry moved inside him, slowly, with some friction. Harry then lowered himself down, his stomach pressed against Louis' back, resting his face in the crook of Louis' neck to whisper in his ear.

"How does that feel, Louis?" He purred. Louis had never felt so full and turned on in his life.

"So full," Louis illogically replied. "So good."

Harry moved his hips back, pulling partway out of Louis, moaning lowly in his ear as he pushed back inside. Louis moved his head aside as he whimpered, allowing Harry's face to bury further into his neck. Harry found a rhythm, hot breath panting against Louis' neck as he thrusted in and out. Louis was releasing a moan of satisfaction with each thrust, biting down onto his forearm and basking in the groans in his ear from Harry. He was moving back against Harry's dick, meeting each thrust he gave, and soon Harry was pounding into Louis steadily.

"Louis, oh _fuck,_ " Harry breathed out, the final word transforming into a moan as it was carried out. He rotated his hips inside Louis, his dick reaching every inch inside him, and Louis did the same.

"Harder, Harry." Louis commanded, though gritted teeth. "Come on, give it to me."

Harry changed the rhythm to one sharp thrust every second or two, so Louis' body shifted on the cold flooring with every movement, a shaky whimper escaping every time. Harry began grunting softly with the effort, one hand locked around Louis' shoulder and the other on his hip.

"Oh, shit, it's so fucking hot..." Harry whispered. "Fuck, turn over, on your back." He pulled out of Louis, to their double reluctance, and Louis hurriedly turned so and shuddered due to the cool tiles against his back now. He liked being able to see Harry's face. His mouth was hung open in arousal, eyes dark and lustful. Louis was loving it, spreading his legs as Harry entered him again. Louis wrapped his hands around his dick, finally grasping the opportunity, pumping along as Harry resumed the fast, erratic thrusts.

He stared with yearning at Louis, eyes trained on his with each movement, each sound. He had forgotten everything bad Louis had ever done, his love for him breaking through it all and wiping the slate clean.

Louis' stomach was tingling, as Harry repeatedly hit against his prostate in a series of particularly hard thrusts, and Louis knew he was about to cum. He didn't inform Harry, knowing that it was obvious, and he could tell be the sloppiness of Harry's movements that he too was close.

Louis allowed his head of rest against the floor, eyes tightly shutting, stomach dipping and clenching, toes curling, and he emitted a long, high whimper as he came in streaks all over his stomach and hand, back arching off the floor, hearing Harry curse moments later before he jolted forward and came inside him.

Louis was shuddering in pleasure as it pulsed through him, riding out his orgasm with Harry, resting up to clasp a hand tightly on the other's forearm. Harry's cum was on him too, his entire stomach coated in the white ropes, eyes slowly and hazily opening as he released ragged breaths. Harry was already looking at him, too breathing heavily.

"Wow." Harry was the first to fill the silence with words. "Holy shit."

Louis lightly laughed, wiping a hand over his forehead to rid of the perspiration. "Wow." He reciprocated.

"I love you, that was incredible." Harry grabbed some toilet roll and handed it to Louis with a smirk, so he could wipe away the evidence of their orgasms from his stomach.

"I love you too. Even though you made me lie on this cold fucking floor." Louis grinned.

"Not that cold, is it?"

Louis grabbed Harry's forearm, playfully pulling him down to the floor too, so Harry winced as his bare back came into contact with the tiles.

"God, that is cold." He chuckled, fighting through it anyway so he could stay by Louis. "But the sex was hot, so that made up for it, right?"

Louis rolled his eyes, reaching over to brush a strand of Harry's hair from his eyes. "I'm really glad you're okay, Harry."

Harry sighed, but his soft smile remained. "Yeah, so am I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to carry out that sad scene for too long, but now Harry knows for certain who he loves! :D
> 
> Apologise if there were spelling errors.


	30. The Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... I'm really sorry to say this is the final chapter to this story. I'm sorry if anybody expected it to be longer, it's just I found this to be the best time to end it xx

"God, we were so fucking worried! How is he? Is he okay?" Liam stressed, the moment Louis rejoined with he and Zayn in the park. They were evidently very distressed, Zayn's hair looking as though he had been running his fingers through it over and over again.

"He's okay now," Louis smiled softly.

"We've been fucking texting and calling you both for the last hour, I've never been so worried in my life!" Zayn raged, glaring at Louis. "How are you smiling right now? Was he going to hurt himself? _Did_ he?"

"He is absolutely fine, I promise you. Please stop panicking. He was going to hurt himself he didn't-"

"Why isn't he here? Where is he?" Liam fired. Louis wanted to scream 'shut up!' at them, wanting to tell them what really happened, but knowing that wasn't the right time.

"He's resting. His mum is home now, she knows he's in a fragile state," Louis let them know, "He will be okay. He just freaked out, almost did something drastic."

"I'm so glad he's okay." Liam breathed, shutting his eyes briefly. "I'm gonna call Niall, let him know what's happened. He's freaking out."

Liam stood up and strolled away, getting his phone out, leaving Louis and Zayn leaning against the the bench. Louis drummed his fingers on the wood, his mind exploding with images, thoughts and feelings on what happened at Harry's house. They had made love. Finally. It was official: Harry liked him. _Loved_ him. He couldn't have wished for anything so amazing to have happened. His dreams had come true. It was real, Harry was almost completely his. Almost.

"Did you have sex with Harry?" Zayn quietly asked, so suddenly that it caught Louis off-guard, and he was sure he gasped, or his eyes widened. He turned to Zayn, whose eyes were filled with sincerity, a slight smile on his face. "Because it would be about time, you two have been drooling over each other for God knows how long."

"I don't know _how_ we ended up having sex," Louis admitted, watching Zayn's smirk widen. "But he was unstable, about to take some pills, locked in his bathroom, and it ended in... yeah."

"That's beautiful, though, right?" Zayn rose an eyebrow. "Did he fuck you in his bathroom?"

Louis' stomach dipped. Zayn's personal question got to him a bit more than it should have.

"On the floor."

Zayn nodded slowly, tongue running over his lower lip. "Did he fuck you nice and _hard_?"

"Niall's glad, too," Liam interjected, oblivious to what he was interrupting. Louis was so glad Niall had returned. He felt like his head was about to explode. Zayn immediately went back into straight-boy mode, as though he hadn't just asked the past two questions.

"Good to hear, Mate." Zayn patted Liam's shoulder, before smiling widely and nonchalantly at Louis. "Really good."

* * *

Harry returned to school that coming Monday, much to their group's surprise. Louis had been texting Harry, just keeping updated on how he was doing and feeling, but it was more than a pleasure to see his face on such a dreary day. He had an element of brightness back, lighting up the school once again with his general presence. When he and Louis linked eyes for the first time that day, the latter shyly smiled and looked down, knowing full well that they were both recalling what went down in that bathroom towards the end. Louis couldn't think about it without getting a surge of excitement through him.

Harry received compassionate hugs from each of his friends, the warmest and tightest being from Louis, and the smile was back. _The_ smile: the one which made everybody's day better.

"Glad to see you happy again, Harry Styles." Were the dreaded, overly flirtatious words Louis dreaded to hear in the corridor before their art lesson, coming from Lucy. Louis wanted to sink into the ground and never reappear, feeling like this was going to happen all over again -- the jealousy.

And it seemed as though the rest of their class, who were all waiting for their teacher to show up, chose Lucy and Harry's interaction as their entertainment, all watching. Louis hated that even more, more people watching the interaction, more people continuing to believe Harry liked it.

"I'm always happy." Was his response.

Zayn moved closer to Louis, clasping a hand protectively around his forearm. "This shit better not start up again, I'll have to start fucking you in the middle of this corridor. Maybe like Harry fucked you in his bathroom." He whispered in Louis' ear. Louis chose to ignore the spark in his stomach and pushed Zayn away from him, very lightly, so that Zayn laughed in response.

"I was actually going to ask you out," Lucy brought up, a stupidly smug grin on her overly made-up face. "This weekend. You and me."

There was a light wave of cooing amongst the crowd, somebody wolf whistling from somewhere, and Louis felt his insides twisted in envy. He wanted to storm over there and push Lucy over, kick her to the ground and scream "He's mine, bitch!"

Harry ran a hand through his hair slowly, seemingly nervous, and Louis was on edge. Zayn glared in Lucy's direction, Liam and Niall watched obliviously. And Louis was surprised to see Harry suddenly turn around, locking eyes with him in intense eye contact. Harry's left eye dropped a wink as he smiled at him, and Louis almost felt his heart stop. He knew what was about to happen.

"I would," Harry began, leaving a dramatically long pause, "However I'm already taken. Sorry."

Zayn nudged Louis, in such an over the top manner that Louis felt his cheeks heating up. Lucy's face had very clearly dropped in hurt, eyebrows furrowed.

"By who? Who are you with? What's her name?" She grilled him, voice tight with jealousy. Louis smiled at his feet, just waiting for what may happen. He wanted to know what Harry was about to do.

"By Louis."

Niall and Liam's heads whipped over to look at Louis. Zayn continued to nudge Louis enthusiastically. There was a thick silence in the hallway suddenly, sheer shock overcoming everybody, and Louis gulped when he found everybody's stunned eyes on him. Lucy's eyes were wide with bewilderment, flicking between Harry and Louis.

"You're... kidding, right?" She scoffed.

"Absolutely not," Harry grinned, strolling over to Louis and grabbing his hand gently. "Am I, Louis?"

"N-No." Louis agreed, refusing to meet Lucy's judging eyes. Nobody quite knew how to react, Zayn emitting a comical 'WOO!' from where he was stood, but overall their classmates weren't too judgemental, a few smiling at Harry and Louis, or saying a congratulations, and Louis was relieved when their teacher arrived to let them all into the classroom. Lucy stormed past the couple, violently barging past Louis as she did, and it was actually quite laughable. She thought her attitude would affect them, but quite frankly it only entertained them.

"You're together?" Liam pieced together, pointing between the boys. "I'm so confused."

"Liam, I'm pretty sure nobody's told you anything," Harry erupted into laughter, which the others were quick to join in on, while Liam's face remained the epitome of confused. Poor Liam, once again. "Yes, we're together now."

Louis couldn't be happier. At that moment, it felt like absolutely everything had gone perfectly... almost - despite the countless bad things that had happened. He wanted to pray to the Gods above for making this happen, despite that stupid Lily Henderson account, and every little mistake he made, Harry had come out. He had admitted his true sexuality to their class, which was the first step towards being happy. He didn't have to bottle it up anymore, and he had accepted that he and Louis were meant for each other the entire time. They always had been.

 

Over time, people came to know about Harry and Louis, mainly through word of mouth: it moved from student to student, saving Harry the trouble of repeating what he had told Lucy in the hallway that day. Months passed, Harry's emotions improved. His mental health improved. He didn't have to take any more antidepressants, he stopped crying himself to sleep. He told his mother and sister about his sexuality. They accepted him. He felt emotionally able to move on with his life.

Zayn found a girlfriend, after so long searching; somebody to relieve his sexual frustration, giving Louis a break finally. Her name was Ally, and Louis couldn't have pictured somebody who suited Zayn so well. She was cool and laid back, like him, and their constant sarcasm and banter was something Louis and his friends were already sick of but would have to learn to accept. Zayn did still occasionally drop a suggestive comment Louis' way, which was confusing to him but something he would have to deal with. He was waiting for the day Zayn would come out as bisexual, but it was yet to come.

Niall and Liam remained single. Niall was just as irritating as time went on, Liam still living in his own little world, the last to find out about most things. They were each other's partners in crime for now, the remaining singles in their group of friends, and Louis knew that in time they would both find the perfect matches for them. But no one would beat how perfect Harry was, ever.

And as for Louis, well, he had never been so happy in all of his life. He had Harry, that's all that mattered. And seeing harry bright, bubbly, happy; it meant a hell of a lot to him. They went on dates every Saturday to new places; explored things together; made love, each time more magical than the last. Harry thanked Louis almost every day for saving him that day, reminding him that otherwise he wouldn't be there today, doing these wonderful things and living his life to the absolute fullest. Louis knew that. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself, had it been any other way.

Lily Henderson was deep in the past. Louis didn't want to think about it. He was happy with who he was today, finally loving himself as he was. It was ironic how Harry could make him insecure and self-loving at the same time, so powerful.

Louis was so, so in love. And he had known he always would be, from the moment his eyes landed on the boy stood in the doorway of the classroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. that's it for this story :O
> 
> Again, sorry it came to such a sudden ending, or if it seemed rushed. I hope you enjoyed reading it, I know it wasn't massively long but it's the length I planned it to be, and I enjoyed writing it :)
> 
> Thank you very much xo


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